THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


A    HISTORY    OF 
THE     GERMANTOWN     ACADEMY 


o 


A 

HISTORY 

OF  THE 

GERMANTOWN 
ACADEMY 


PUBLISHED  UPON    THE 

ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTIETH   ANNIVERSARY 

OF    THE    SCHOOL'S    FOUNDING 

I     9     I     o 


PRESS  OF 

S.   H.    BURBANK   &  CO. 

PHILADELPHIA 


Educatfofl 
Library 

1501 


TO 

WILLIAM    KERSHAW 

MAKER    OF   THE    GERMANTOWN    ACADEMY    OF    TODAY 

THIS    HISTORY    OF    ITS    EARLIER    DAYS    IS 

DEDICATED    BY    HIS    BOYS 


SSl'*'^  o 


4  .JL^ 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


CHAPTER 

I     The  Founding  of  the  School  i 

II     The  Opening  of  the  School,  Aug.  io,  1761  35 

III  David  James  Dove  and  Pelatiah  Webster, 

1761-1766  59 

IV  The  Years  of  Pre-Revolutionary  Unrest, 

1 766-1 774  87 

V     The  Revolution,  i  774-1 783  95 
VI     "The    Public    School    of   Germantown," 

1 784-1 793  ^°7 

VII     In  the  Yellow  Fever  Year,  1793  i^9 

VIII      "The  Academy,"  i 794-1799  ^26 
IX     The    Decline    of    the    German    School, 

1 800- 1 809  138 
X     A    Period   of   Educational    Experiments, 

1810-1820  H5 

XI      The  Principalships  of  John  M.  Brewer  and 

Walter  Rogers  Johnson,  i  820-1 826  i55 

XII      A  Critical  Period,  1826-1860  166 
XIII     The    Last    Years    of    the    Old    Regime, 

1860-1877  ^^7 

Speeches  207 

Our  Educational  Institutions  209 

The  University  of  Pennsylvania  212 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  Academy  214 

Penn  Charter  School  217 

Founding  of  The  Germantovi^n  Academy  22i 

Pen  Portraits  of  the  Academy  239 

Public  Education  251 

Appendix — The  Roll-call   of  Trustees,  Teachers    and 

Alumni  259 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Germantown  Academy  in  1910  Frontispiece 

The  Green  Tree  Inn  Facing  Page  i 

The  First  Subscription  for  the  Building  of 

THE    SCHOOLHOUSE  BETWEEN  PaGES  34-35 

Hilarius  Becker  Facing  Page  40 

Caricature  of  Dove  Page  56 

A  Personal  Letter  from  Dove  to  Wharton 

Facing  Page  72 

Charles  Mifflin's  Bill  for  Schooling 

Between  Pages  84-85 

Germantown  Academy  Buildings  from  the 

Playground,  1910  Facing  Page  193 

Dr.  William  Kershaw  Facing  Page  202 

Germantown  Academy  Boys  in  Battery  A, 
U.S.V.    Taken  in  Porto  Rico,  1898 

Facing  Page  225 


INTRODUCTION 

THIS  book  is  a  history  of  the  Germantown 
Academy  from  the  time  the  thought  of  the 
school  took  form  in  the  minds  of  the 
citizens  of  colonial  Germantown  until  the 
principalship  of  Dr.  William  Kershaw.  The  committee 
in  charge  of  its  publication  believe  that  the  boys, 
graduated  at  the  school  during  his  headmastership, 
have  taken  as  prominent  a  part  in  the  life  of  their 
town  and  state  and  country,  as  those  graduated 
during  the  principalship  of  any  other  man.  It 
would  have  been  pleasant,  indeed,  to  chronicle  their 
years  in  the  school  and  in  affairs,  and  to  discuss  the 
educational  methods  of  Dr.  Kershaw ;  but  the  com- 
mittee have  felt  that  this  period  is  still  incomplete,  that 
its  oldest  boys  have  but  come  to  the  fulness  of  their 
life-work ;  and,  as  recording  history  in  the  making  is 
always  unsatisfactory,  the  committee  have  decided  to 
leave  the  account  of  the  years  1877 — 19 10  to  younger 
hands.  The  committee  have  felt,  too,  that  as  the  story 
of  the  school  in  this  generation  is  a  household  word  in 
Germantown  there  is  the  less  need  of  recording  it  now. 
In  the  time  at  their  disposal  the  Committee  have 
found  it  impossible  to  make  this  history  as  full  as  they 


would  like.  No  one  can  be  more  aware  than  they  how 
much  more  research  remains  to  be  done,  especially  in 
the  investigating  of  the  biographies  of  the  graduates 
of  the  school.  It  is  in  this  respect,  indeed,  that  most 
school  histories  fall  short,  and  the  committee  feel  that 
in  a  school  with  so  long  and  honorable  a  history  as 
ours  a  matriculate  catalogue  is  as  necessary  as  in  a  col- 
lege. Not  until  such  a  catalogue  is  compiled  can  there 
be  written  a  history  of  the  Germantown  Academy 
which  will  fully  reveal  the  contribution  of  its  students 
in  the  development  of  their  country. 

In  science,  both  pure  and  applied,  especially  in 
medicine,  for  which  our  city  is  so  famous,  the  boys  of 
the  school  have,  many  of  them,  won  renown.  In  the 
law,  in  the  ministry,  and  in  the  profession  of  teaching 
the  graduates  of  the  school  have  had  more  than  their 
proportion  of  success.  In  literature  and  the  arts,  too, 
they  have  made  their  mark.  In  business  their  names 
are  among  those  of  the  men  that  have  largely  attained; 
and  in  public  service,  both  civil  and  military,  German- 
town  Academy  boys  have  done  their  part. 

The  committee  is  indebted  to  many  for  help  with 
this  book:  first  of  all  to  the  late  Rev.  William  Travis, 
for  his  "History  of  the  Germantown  Academy" 
(1882),  which  has  made  easier  the  way  for  this  history; 
and  second  to  Mr.  Joseph  Jackson,  whose  knowledge 
of  old  Philadelphia  is  so  extensive,  for  his  research  in 
behalf  of  the  committee  among  the  school  records  and 
in  the  library  of  the  Historical  Society.     Acknowledge- 


ment  for  much  aid  is  due  to  Mr.  R.  L.  Perot,  whose 
list  of  the  matriculates  of  the  school  is  appended;  to 
Mr.  Reed  Morgan  and  to  the  Rev.  Ellison  Perot  for 
theirAlumni  Catalogue;  to  Mr.  Harrold  E.Gillingham, 
whose  manuscript  material  concerning  the  history  of 
the  school  has  been  freely  drawn  upon,  especially  for 
the  list  of  teachers  and  trustees;  to  Mr.  Charles  F. 
Jenkins,  who  has  read  the  proofs  and  corrected  them 
out  of  his  large  knowledge  of  the  history  of  German- 
town;  and  to  Mr.  E.  I.  H.  Howell,  Captain  W. 
Franklyn  Potter  and  Dr.  Alfred  C.  Lambdin  for 
reminiscences  of  school  days  and  school  fellows. 

Everett  H.  Brown,  Chairman 
Horace  M.  Lippincott 
Guernsey  Moore 
Sheldon  F.  Potter,  Jr. 
Cornelius  Weygandt 
F.  Churchill  Williams 


ODE 

In  Commemoration   of  the   One   Hundred   and 

Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Founding 

of  Germantown  Academy 

Bell  in  the  belfry-tower  ! 

That  hurried  our  steps  to  school — 

Crown  of  the  ancient  rule  ! 
That  wast  more  than  a  symbolled  power — 
Walls  of  Time-touched  grey  ! 

That  our  boyish  fingers  have  crumbled — 
Again  we  come  thy  way 

In  a  pageant  of  honor — humbled. 

Humbled  in  praise  and  song 
As  humbled  in  pride  and  might, 
For  the  days  on  thy  threshold  were  light, 

But  the  days  since  our  going  are  long; 

In  the  maze  of  the  march  we  are  blind, 

And  thou  seem'st  but  a  glimmer,  a  phase — 

And  our  vaunting  of  strength  were  as  wind 
And  as  wind  our  outpouring  of  praise. 


Yet  what  of  gladness  and  pleasure 

(Remembering  thy  days  of  our  youth) 
That  the  sower  of  mysteries,  Truth, 

Has  culled  us  in  gradual  measure 

From  her  thunderous  seed-lands  of  Law, 
We  bring  to  this  singing-time, 

That  again  we  may  see  as  we  saw 
When  we  raced  to  thy  belfry-chime. 

To-day  thou  art  honoured  with  years  ! 

With  the  praise  of  times  that  are  fled  ! 

O  what  is  there  left  to  be  said 
That  the  ghosts  of  our  elder  peers, — 
Whose  feet  wore  thy  door-stone  down 

When  the  hand  of  the  king  reigned  here 
In  that  sign  of  a  rusty  crown, — 

Knowing  not,  should  come  back  to  hear? 

Thou  art  old  with  the  spirit  of  Youth, 
Thou  art  young  with  the  raiment  of  Age, 
Thou  hast  Legend  for  panoplage, 

Thou  walkest  the  ways  of  Sooth  ; 

In  thyself  thou  art  full  of  state. 

To  those  of  thy  breast  thou  art  known : 

That  Mother  is  truly  great 
Who  is  noble  unto  her  own. 


Now  we  turn  to  thee  with  men's  eyes, 

Knowing  thee  what  thou  art — 

Keeper  of  boyhood's  heart 
From  the  after-thorns  of  surprise  ! 
Buckler  of  boyhood's  mind 

'Gainst  the  windy  arrows  of  doubt 
Which  the  chance  of  a  day  can  unbind, 

Yet  the  task  of  a  hfe  not  rout. 

Now  we  turn  to  thee  with  men's  eyes, 

Who  are  more  of  the  child  each  day. 

Lo  !  our  playthings  are  taken  away, 
But  we  do  not  learn  to  be  wise. 
Yet  thou  in  us  art  fulfilled, 

In  our  orchard  of  deeds  is  thy  fane  ; 
Thou  seest  in  us  soil  tilled, 

In  thee  we  see  childhood  again. 

Bell  in  the  belfry-tower — 

Crown  of  the  ancient  rule — 

Grey  walls  of  the  grey  old  school — 
Mystic  and  cherished  dower 
From  the  mind  of  boy  to  the  man. 

From  the  heart  of  youth  to  age. 
From  the  time  when  light  laughter  ran 

To  this  harvest  of  heritage. 

Wilton  Agnew  Barrett 
Class  of  1905 


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A  HISTORY  OF 
THE  GERMANTOWN 
ACADEMY  . 

CHAPTER  I 
Founding  the  School 

THE  Germantown  Academy  was  born  of  that 
alliance  of  German  Sectarian  and  British 
Friend  that  has  given  Pennsylvania  so  much 
that  is  worthy  and  substantial.  It  was  founded 
as  a  Union  School,  and  long  before  it  was  known  as 
"  The  Academy,"  and  even  before  it  was  known  as 
"  The  Public  School  of  Germantown  "  it  was  "  The 
Germantown  Union  School."  The  first  entry  in  the 
minute  book  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  tells  how  large 
and  tolerant  and  reconciling,  how  truly  union  in  spirit, 
was  the  purpose  of  its  foundation.  "At  a  meeting  of 
several  of  the  inhabitants  of  Germantown,  and  places 
adjacent,"  runs  the  first  minute,  "at  the  house  of 
Daniel  Mackinett,  in  said  town,  on  the  6th  day  of 
December,  1759,  it  was  unanimously  agreed  upon  by 
those  present  that  a  large,  commodious  school-house 
should  be  erected  in  said  town,  near  the  centre  thereof, 
two  rooms  on  the  lower  floor  whereof  should  be  for 
the    use    of    English    and    High    Dutch,    or    German 


A  History  of  The   Germantown  Academy 

Schools,  and  be  continued  for  that  use,  and  no  other, 
forever  ;  and  that  there  should  be  convenient  dwellings 
built  for  the  schoolmasters  to  reside  in."  At  this  first 
meeting  to  inaugurate  the  movement  a  Committee  was 
appointed  "  to  promote  and  procure  subscriptions  of 
all  such  well-affected  and  generous  persons,  as  were 
willing  to  contribute  to  and  assist  in  said  undertaking." 
It  may  be  assumed  that  the  members  of  this  Committee 
either  were  present  in  person  or  had  authorized  the 
use  of  their  names  for  any  service  they  could  give  the 
new  undertaking.  These  were  Christopher  Meng, 
Christopher  Sauer,  Baltus  Reser,  Daniel  Mackinett, 
John  Jones,  Charles  Bensell  and  Daniel  Endt.  Whether 
Joseph  Galloway  was  present  we  have  no  means  of 
determining,  but  at  the  meeting  for  organization  in 
the  January  following  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  first 
trustees. 

There  were  at  that  time  at  least  two  schools  well 
established  in  Germantown,  the  school  of  the  Friends' 
Meeting  and  the  German  school  taught  by  Hilarius 
Becker,  or  Baker,  as  the  name  subsequently  appears  in 
Philadelphia  history.  At  that  time  it  was  customary 
in  the  German  settlements  for  such  churches  as  main- 
tained an  ordained  clergyman,  to  have  him  also  act  as 
schoolmaster,  and  there  well  may  have  been  other 
schools  of  this  sort  in  Germantown. 

It  was  evident  the  proposed  Union  School  was  to 
be  of  a  higher  grade  than  those  intended  to  inculcate 
a  rudimentary  knowledge  of  the  three  R's.  If  such 
higher  education  was  desired,  however,  it  was  already 
within  reach  at  the  College  of  Philadelphia,  although 
it   should   be    borne    in   mind    that    Germantown  was 


Founding  the    School 

farther  from  Philadelphia  in  1759  than  it  now  is, 
when  the  time  to  be  considered  in  travelling  between 
the  two  places  is  taken  into  consideration,  and  when 
the  means  of  transport  at  the  disposal  of  a  traveller 
then  and  now  are  also  included  in  the  measuring  calcu- 
lation. It  does  not  anywhere  appear  that  the  children 
of  the  town  were  being  neglected  so  far  as  school 
training  was  concerned,  but  it  is  patent  that  the  higher 
branches  desired  were  to  be  obtained  only  at  an  insti- 
tution for  whose  management  neither  Friends  or 
German  Sectarians  felt  sympathetic  attraction.  While 
the  Friends  maintained  an  Academy  of  their  own,  the 
most  ancient  in  the  Province,  its  scope  was  far  more 
limited  than  that  of  the  College  and  Academy  of 
Philadelphia.  But  the  sponsors  for  the  latter  repre- 
sented a  party  that  had  grievously  offended  the 
Friends  and  had  given  that  offence  continuously.  The 
Quaker  or  Assembly  Party  still  held  the  whiphand  in 
the  exciting  political  situation  in  Pennsylvania,  and  it 
is  not  difficult  to  imagine  that  the  Friends  in  German- 
town  and  in  Philadelphia  should  be  willing  to  lend 
assistance  in  the  establishment  of  a  High  School  that 
might  be  destined  to  rival  the  Proprietary  Academy  in 
the  capital.  By  such  a  move  they  might  be  able  to 
pay  off  old  scores  on  the  Provost  and  the  Episcopalian 
Party,  and  assuredly  they  would  strengthen  themselves 
with  the  Germans  whose  votes  kept  them  in  power. 
It  was  the  part  of  good  politics  to  do  this,  and  the 
early  Friends  in  Pennsylvania,  in  a  quiet  way,  were 
often  able  politicians. 

In  December,  1759,  Christopher  Sauer,  the  first  of 
that  name,  the   many-sided  man  who  was  as  definitely 


A  History   of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

the  dominant  political  power  among  his  fellow  country- 
men in  the  Province  as  any  state  leader  of  the  present 
time  who  can  be  named,  had  been  dead  over  a  year. 
But  his  son,  who  bore  the  same  name,  lived,  and  as  he 
advanced  the  printing  and  publishing  business  estab- 
lished by  his  father,  he  also  was  sufficiently  in  sympathy 
with  the  public  undertakings  in  which  his  father  had 
been  interested  to  take  them  up,  where  the  able  hand 
of  the  old  printer  had  laid  them  down,  and  carry  them 
onward  to  success.  It  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  the 
elder  Sauer  had,  before  his  death,  spoken  of  the  possi- 
bility of  success  in  establishing  a  High  School  for 
Germans  in  the  town,  although  he  did  not  give  his 
approval  to  such  higher  education  as  was  given  at  the 
College  and  Academy  of  Philadelphia.  What  he  did 
desire,  however,  was  that  the  children  of  German 
Colonists  might  be  taught  in  the  tongue  of  their 
fathers;  not  only  in  the  elements  but  in  higher  studies, 
that,  although  they  might  have  been  born  and  brought 
up  in  Pennsylvania,  they  might  still  be  as  German  as  if 
their  lives  had  been  passed  in  the  Fatherland. 

Christopher  Sauer  the  second,  who  was  one  of  the 
representative  Germantowners  who  took  part  in  the 
meeting  at  Mackinett's  hostelry,  was  at  that  time  a 
Bishop  of  the  Church  of  the  Brethren,  commonly 
called,  in  those  days,  Dunkards.  He  was  born  in  Ger- 
many, probably  at  Halle,  and  was  ten  years  old  when 
his  father  brought  him  first  to  Germantown  in  1731. 
At  the  period  when  he  was  taking  an  active  part  in 
formulating  plans  for  the  Union  School  he  was  in  his 
thirty-ninth  year.  Eleven  years  before  he  became  a 
minister  in  the  Dunkard  Church  in  Germantown,  and 


Founding    the  School 

in  1753  he  had  become  a  bishop.  For  a  year  or 
two  before  his  father's  death  he  had  been  very  active 
in  the  pubhshing  business,  and  in  1756  we  find  that  he 
issued  "  The  Nature  and  Design  of  Christianity 
Extracted  from  a  Late  Author."  This  book  bore  the 
imprint,  "  Christopher  Sauer,  Junior,  Germantown," 
but  succeeding  publications  from  the  same  press  bore 
only  the  long-familiar  name  without  the  distinguishing 
appendix.  The  Sauer  home  and  printing  establish- 
ment occupied  the  site  of  what  now  is  5253  Main 
Street.  The  second  Christopher  Sauer  established 
the  first  type  foundry  in  America  in  1772-73,  but  in 
another  property  owned  by  him,  the  house  now  num- 
bered 5300  Main  Street,  the  parsonage  of  Trinity 
Lutheran  Church.  He  is  also  noted  as  a  paper 
maker,  and  issued  the  second  and  third  editions  of  the 
Bible  in  1763  and  1776,  years  before  the  first  edition 
of  the  Scriptures  in  English  was  published  in  this 
country.  From  the  Sauer  press  came  forth  mainly 
religious  books  and  almanacs,  although  from  it  issued 
the  first  work  on  school  methods  published  in  this 
country. 

That  the  first  Christopher  Sauer  had  devoted  some 
attention  to  education  is  proved  by  his  intense  interest 
in  the  successful  methods  of  Christopher  Dock,  who 
has  been  termed  "  the  pious  schoolmaster  of  the  Skip- 
pack."  Dock  for  a  long  period  held  school  also  in 
Germantown  on  certain  days,  as  well  as  in  Skippack, 
and  Sauer  became  so  much  interested  in  the  schoolmas- 
ter's art  that  he  induced  him  to  write  for  him  a  small 
volume  explaining  his  methods.  After  considerable 
persuasion  Dock  agreed,  and  finally  handed  the  manu- 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

script  to  the  Germantown  publisher,  but  not  before 
the  latter  had  sought  the  influence  of  Dielman  Kolb, 
the  Mennonite  minister  in  Salford,  where  Dock  also 
preached,  and  had  promised  the  book  should  not  be 
printed  until  after  Dock's  death.  Former  Governor 
Pennypacker,  who  has  translated  this  treatise,  is 
responsible  for  the  story  that  while  the  manuscript 
reached  Sauer  in  1750,  the  essay  in  its  entirety  did  not 
appear  until  nineteen  years  afterwards,  or  until  the 
first  Sauer  had  been  in  his  grave  eleven  years.  At  one 
time  the  manuscript  was  mislaid,  and  Sauer,  through 
his  newspaper,  offered  a  reward  for  its  return. 
Although  undiscovered  by  him,  it  was  in  his  posses- 
sion at  the  time.  The  little  book,  now  quite  rare, 
bore  the  title :  "  Eine  Einfaeltige  und  Gruendlich 
abgefasste  Schul-ordnung  darinnen  deutlich  vorges- 
tellt  wird,  auf  welche  weisse  die  Kinder  nicht  nur  in 
denen  in  Schulem  gewoehnhchen  Lehren  bestens, 
angebracht  sondern  auch  in  der  Lehre  Gottseligkeit 
wohl  unterrichtet  werden  moegen  aus  Liebe  zu  dem 
menschlichen  Geschlecht  aufgesetzt  durch  den  wohler- 
farnen  und  lang  genebten  Schulmeister  Christopher 
Dock :  und  durch  einige  Freunde  des  gemeinen 
Bestens  dem  Druck  nebergeben.  Germantown,  Ge- 
druckt  und  zu  finden  bey  Christoph  Saur,  1770." 

The  printed  book,  a  copy  of  which  is  in  the 
Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  consists  of  54 
small  octavo  pages,  and  four  of  these  are  devoted  to 
"  Kinder-Liedlein."  That  part  of  the  book  which  has 
been  called  the  hundred  necessary  rules  of  conduct 
appeared  in  Sauer's  magazine  in  1764,  and  the  quaint 
way  in  which  Dock  has  amplified  the  Decalogue  is  of 

6 


Founding   the  School 

the  greatest  interest,  and  might  be  followed  with  good 
results  were  they  still  taught  in  the  Mennonite  school- 
master's homely  way.  The  manuscript  of  this  little 
book  having  been  in  Sauer's  possession  many  years 
before  the  time  seemed  ripe  for  a  modern  school  in 
Germantown,  seems  to  be  an  indication  that  the 
scheme  for  its  establishment  had  long  been  on  the 
mind  of  the  elder  Sauer.  Upon  the  appearance  of  the 
Rev.  Michael  Schlatter,  the  agent  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
William  Smith  and  his  party  in  their  effort  toward  the 
anglicization  of  the  Pennsylvania  Germans,  and  what 
the  Germantown  printer  must  have  regarded  as  inter- 
ference by  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  Christi- 
anity among  his  fellow  colonists,  it  may  be  imagined 
that  more  than  ever  he  desired  to  show  the  Proprietary 
Party  the  independence  of  the  Germans,  and  their 
ability  to  establish  and  support  their  own  schools  in 
their  own  way.  For  such  ambitious  plans,  however, 
the  time  was  not  yet  ripe,  and  the  printer  died  without 
seeing  his  scheme  actually  tried. 

Daniel  Mackinett's(or  Mackenet,  as  the  name  some- 
times is  encountered)  was  the  most  popular  public 
house  in  Germantown,  and  it  continued,  as  the  Green 
Tree  tavern  down  into  the  nineteenth  century,  when 
it  became  noted  for  the  cheer  sleighing  parties  found 
there,  and  for  the  Widow  Mackinett's  cuisine.  The 
building  was  erected  in  1748,  and  was  maintained  by 
its  builder,  Daniel  Pastorius,  as  a  hostelry  until  his 
death  in  1754.  Mackinett  is  believed  to  have  married 
his  widow,  and  ten  years  later,  she  appears  to  have 
been  widowed  for  a  second  time.  Contemporary 
chronicles  of  the  Battle  of  Germantown  allude  to  the 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

"Widow  Mackinett's  Tavern,"  and  describe  how 
General  Wayne's  forces  had  penetrated  thus  far  into 
the  town.  When  Lafayette  visited  Germantown  in 
1825  the  Green  Tree  was  still  there,  and  what  was 
more  interesting,  a  Mackinett  was  its  master.  The 
house,  however,  was  found  too  small  for  the  dinner  it 
was  desired  to  give  in  his  honor,  so  this  feast  was  given 
at  Cliveden,  the  house  of  the  Chews. 

This  Mackinett,  who  gave  his  assistance  and,  no 
doubt,  the  best  room  in  his  inn  for  the  purpose  of 
assisting  the  projected  school,  evidently  was  a  public- 
spirited  man,  and  a  skillful  innkeeper.  There  is  every 
indication  that  he  was  one  of  those  rare,  useful,  tireless 
and  enterprising  men  who  are  in  evidence  where  an 
organization  is  successful.  Mackinett  worked  like  a 
beaver  on  the  committee  on  subscriptions,  and  when 
account  was  taken  of  the  amounts  subscribed,  it  was 
found  that  the  largest  return — more  than  one-third  the 
total — was  made  by  the  innkeeper.  He  was  advisedly 
elected  one  of  the  first  trustees. 

The  Christopher  Meng,  who  is  mentioned  as  one 
of  the  Committee,  was  John  Christopher  Meng,  a 
native  of  Manheim,  Germany,  where  he  was  born  in 
1697.  ^^  ^7^3  ^^  married  Anna  Dorothea  Baumannin 
von  Elsten,  and  five  years  later  came  to  this  country 
and  settled  in  Germantown.  With  him  he  brought  a 
certificate  from  his  pastor  in  Germany  testifying  that 
the  worthy  "  Burgher  and  Stone-mason,"  and  "  his 
honorable  housewife,"  had  been  faithful  in  their  relig- 
ion. He  settled  on  part  of  what  is  now  Vernon  Park, 
and  his  son,  John  Melchior  Meng,  became  noted  for 
his  collection  of  trees  and  shrubs  and  flowers.     They 


Founding    the  School 

occupied  a  comparatively  modest  home  on  Main 
Street,  but  when  the  City  of  Philadelphia  came  into 
possession  of  the  property  for  park  purposes,  this 
ancient  building  was  razed.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  Meng  was  the  architect  and  builder  of  the 
Academy  building,  and  it  may  well  have  been  so,  for 
it  was  customary  in  those  times  for  the  stone-mason  to 
design  as  well  as  erect  structures.  The  architect,  as 
we  know  him,  excepting  in  some  historic  instances, 
was  in  those  days  generally  either  the  builder,  or  a 
person  connected  with  the  building  trades.  At  other 
times  the  designs  were  the  exhibition  of  talented 
amateurs,  such  as  those  of  Christ  Church,  and  the  old 
State  House  in  Philadelphia. 

Not  a  great  deal  is  known  of  Baltus  Reser,  who 
was  another  member  of  the  committee.  That  he  was 
a  prosperous  master  tanner,  and  was  early  established 
in  the  town,  is  certain.  That  he  was  one  of  the 
townsmen  actively  interested  for  the  Lower  Burying 
Ground  is  a  matter  of  record,  and  his  connection  with 
the  Germantown  Academy  is  another  indication  of  his 
pubhc  spirit,  and  that  he  was  one  of  the  town's  promi- 
nent men  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  was  selected  for 
the  committee  to  secure  subscriptions,  which  means 
that  he  must  have  been  regarded  as  a  man  of  persua- 
sive power.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Fishing  Company  of  Fort  St.  Davids,  at  the  Falls  of 
Schuylkill. 

John  Jones,  another  member  of  the  Committee  on 
Subscriptions,  who  seems  to  have  been  less  fortunate 
in  this  than  in  his  business,  was  another  master  tanner. 
He  was  a  neighbor  of  Dr.   Charles   Bensell,   on  the 


A  History  of  The  G ermantown   Academy 

Main  Street  above  Schoolhouse  Lane,  which  in  those 
days  was  named  for  the  Bensells,  who  owned  the  land 
on  either  side  of  it.  Mr.  Jones  at  this  time  was 
approaching  middle  age.  We  find  him  admitted  a 
member  to  the  Schuylkill  Fishing  Company  on  May 
ist,  of  the  same  year,  and  the  previous  year  he  had 
returned  from  the  directorate  of  the  Philadelphia 
Contributionship,  the  first  insurance  company  estab- 
lished in  America  and,  owing  to  its  badge  of  the 
clasped  hands,  frequently  alluded  to  as  the  Hand-in- 
Hand  Insurance  Company.  His  death  is  said  to  have 
occurred  between  the  years  1775  and  1780.  His  son 
became  a  prominent  merchant  in  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia after  the  Revolution. 

Like  Baltus  Reser,  or  Raser,  John  Jones  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Fort  St.  Davids  Fishing  Com- 
pany. Indeed,  it  is  curious  to  note  that  on  the 
Committee  on  Subscriptions  were  four  members  of 
that  famous  but  only  dimly  traced  social  organization 
which  had  its  "Fort"  at  the  Falls  until  after  the  Revo- 
lution. In  this  organization  were  many  of  the  best  men 
of  Germantown,  and  there  has  been  included  among  the 
names  that  of  Dr.  Charles  Bensell.  The  list  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Fishing  Company,  bearing  the  date  of 
1763,  shows  some  carelessness  in  orthography,  and  we 
may  be  forgiven  when  we  translate  Charles  Pensyl  as 
Charles  Bensell,  for  the  former  probably  is  the  way  the 
writer  pronounced  it.  The  other  member  of  the 
society  and  of  the  committee  was  David  Endt,  whose 
name  is  written  Ent  in  the  list  referred  to,  and  who 
lived  at  Fisher's  Lane. 

From  what  has  been  told  the  high  character  and 

10 


Founding   the  School 

substantial  standing  of  the  founders  will  at  once  be 
evident.  All  of  the  men  actively  interested  were  like- 
wise men  accustomed  to  the  business  of  meetings,  and 
all  of  them  were  business  men.  One  of  the  most 
prominent  figures  on  the  committee  was  Dr.  Charles 
Bensell.  His  name  was  originally  written  Carl 
Benzelius.  He  was  a  man  of  education  and  family, 
his  father  being  Bishop  of  Upsala,  Sweden.  Dr.  Bensell 
is  believed  by  Townsend  Ward,  from  a  tombstone 
inscription  in  the  Lower  Burying  Ground,  to  have  been 
born  April  ii,  1725,  and  to  have  died  March  17,  1795. 
The  stone  house  he  erected  at  Schoolhouse  Lane  and 
Main  Street,  where  the  building  of  the  Bank  of 
Germantown  now  stands,  was  formerly  one  of  the  land- 
marks in  the  town,  and  at  the  time  the  meeting  in 
Mackinett's  was  held,  it  must  have  been  only  recently 
completed,  if  it  were  not  erected  later. 

Of  Daniel  Endt  little  more  is  known  than  has  been 
told.  He  was  part  owner  with  Baltus  Reser,  in  1776, 
in  a  lot  in  the  lower  end  of  the  town.  While  he  does 
not  appear  to  have  been,  like  Reser,  a  founder  of  the 
Fort  St.  Davids  Fishing  Company,  he  was  an  early 
member.  That  he  was  related  to  Theobald  Endt,  the 
clockmaker,  seems  to  be  probable,  but  in  what  degree 
the  relationship  was  does  not  now  appear. 

Theobald  Endt's  house  at  5222  Main  Street  has 
become  historic  because  of  the  meeting  held  there  in 
1 741  between  Count  Zinzendorf  and  representatives 
of  other  German  religious  sects,  to  consider  their  unifi- 
cation into  one  body. 

On  December  18,  1759,  the  Committee  on  Sub- 
scriptions held  a  meeting,  and  prepared  the  call  which 

II 


A  History  of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

appeared   in   Franklin  and  Hall's  "  Pennsylvania  Ga- 
zette "  on  December  20th  of  that  year : 

*' Germantown,  December  18,  1759. 

"  These  are  to  give  Notice  to  all  such  persons  as 
were  pleased  to  subscribe  to  the  building  of  a  large 
and  commodious  School-house  in  Germantown  for  the 
Good  of  the  Publick  whose  Subscriptions  amounted  to 
Forty  Shillings  or  upwards,  and  to  those  who  may  be 
pleased  to  subscribe  as  aforesaid  on  or  before  the 
First  Day  of  January  next,  that  the  Advice  and  Assist- 
ance of  such  Contributors  is  requested  to  chuse  suit- 
able Persons  as  Superintendents  or  Overseers  and 
Managers  of  said  Building,  and  Trustees  for  the 
Schools,  and  to  agree  upon  a  Plan  of  necessary  regu- 
lations for  the  well  ordering  of  the  same  hereafter  for 
the  Good  of  the  Publick,  and  agreeable  to  the  Institu- 
tion thereof.  The  said  first  Day  of  January  next  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  is  therefore  appointed  for 
the  meeting  of  such  as  aforesaid,  at  the  House  of 
Daniel  Mackenet,  in  said  Town." 

From  the  minutes,  we  learn  at  this  meeting  for 
organization,  held  on  New  Year's  Day,  1760,  it  was 
found  that  a  "  considerable  number,  both  of  the  said 
town,  and  places  adjacent,"  had  become  contributors, 
or  rather  subscribers,  and  that  the  Committee  had 
every  encouragement  to  believe  that  their  numbers 
would  be  increased.  A  rough  draft  of  "  the  funda- 
mental article,  concessions  and  agreements  "  was  ten- 
tatively adopted,  but  was  voted  to  be  placed  into  the 
experienced  legal  hands  of  Joseph  Galloway,  "  to  be 
put  into  form  and  engrossed."     Managers  of  the  build- 

12 


Founding    the   School 


T 


HIS  is  to  certify,  that  ^^^yz^^^^Ju^^e^/ — 
o^J^ffx^uijy  ^i;;2/^rb    hath  contribii|@d  the 


Sum  of    /s^ii/O  ^^a^i/j  * — to  the 

UNION  SCHOOL-HOUSE  of  GERMANTOWN,  and 
is  thereby  vefted  with  all  the  Rights,  Po\('ers  and 
Privileges  of  a  Contributor  to  the  faid  School-Houfe. 
Witness  my  Hand  tliis   tA^hi^  —  Day  of  t^/jrlS 
^760  M^M^^n-  Treasurer. 

Certificate  of  Thomas  Livezey's  Contribution  to  the 
Union  School-house 

Ing,  a  Treasurer,  and  Trustees  were  chosen,  and  the 
idea  may  be  said  to  have  now  taken  definite  form. 

The  "  managers  of  the  buildings,"  which  really  was 
a  committee  to  see  that  a  site  was  purchased  and  that 
the  buildings  were  erected,  consisted  of  Christopher 
Meng,  as  he  seems  to  have  been  called,  and  as  proba- 
bly he  called  himself,  omitting  his  first  given  name, 
John ;  Conrad  Weaver,  Baltus  Reser,  Jacob  Coleman, 
Peter  Leibert,  John  Bringhurst  and  Jacob  Engle. 

Richard  Johnson  was  chosen  "  Treasurer  of  the 
Community,"  and  the  Trustees,  elected  for  a  year, 
were  Christopher  Sauer,  Thomas  Rose,  John  Jones, 
Daniel  Mackinett,  Jacob  Keyser,  John  Bowman, 
Thomas  Livezey,  David  Deshler,  George  Alsentz, 
Joseph  Galloway,  Charles  Bensell,  Jacob  Neglee  and 
Benjamin  Engle. 

In  the  "Pennsylvania  Gazette"  for  January  17, 
1760,  will  be  found  this  advertisement : 

"Germantown,  January  13,  1760. 
"  Agreeable  to  the  Resolution  of  the  last  Meeting 

13 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

of  the  Contributors,  The  Trustees  of  the  School  and 
School  House,  intended  to  be  established  and  erected 
in  Germantown,  for  the  Education  of  Youth,  having 
purchased  a  commodious  Piece  of  Ground  for  that 
Purpose,  and  prepared  the  fundamental  Rules,  Arti- 
cles and  Regulations ;  do  hereby  give  Notice,  that  the 
Hour  of  One  o'clock,  on  Friday  the  Twenty-fifth  of 
this  Instant,  is  appointed  for  the  meeting  of  the  said 
Contributors,  at  the  House  of  Daniel  McKinnet,  in 
Germantown,  in  order  to  execute  the  same,  and  to 
consider  what  further  Measures  are  necessary  for 
prosecuting  their  laudable  Design." 

Before  delving  into  the  personalities  of  the  found- 
ers not  previously  described  there  needs  to  be  said 
something  here  about  the  "  commodious  piece  of 
Ground,"  which  had  been  purchased.  The  lot  was 
bought  from  John  and  George  Bringhurst  for  ;!^I25, 
but  although  the  advertisement  mentions  its  purchase, 
the  money  was  not  passed  over,  nor  the  transaction 
completed  until  April,  1760.  The  lot  had  originally 
been  one  of  the  Germantown  "  Town  lots  towards 
Schuylkill,"  and  had  passed  from  Jacob  Van  Bebber 
and  Jacob  Tellner,  in  whose  names  it  stood  in  1689,  to 
John  Jarrett,  who  was  recorded  as  owner  in  1714.  In 
1766,  that  part  of  the  lot  not  occupied  by  the  school 
was  variously  owned  in  parcels  by  Abram  Griffith, 
John  Wynn,  Christopher  Meng,  William  Ashmead, 
David  Deshler  and  Charles  Bensell.  As  has  been  said, 
Dr.  Bensell  lived  on  the  other  side  of  the  lane  on  which 
the  school  property  was  situated,  and  which  was  called 
Bensell's  Lane  in  those  days. 

14 


Founding   the  School 

At  the  meeting  referred  to  in  the  advertisement, 
which  from  the  minute  book  appears  to  have  been  held 
on  January  8th,  there  was  adopted  "fundamental  Rules, 
Articles  and  Regulations."  As  these  formed  the  first 
system  of  government  for  the  school  they  may  be  in- 
serted here : 

CERTAIN  AGREEMENTS  AND 
CONCESSIONS 

Entered  into  and  concluded  in  by  and  between  the 
trustees  and  managers  of  a  certain  Schoolhouse  and 
School  about  to  be  erected  in  Germantown,  this  8th 
day  of  January,  1760. 

Whereas,  a  large  sum  of  money  has  been  sub- 
scribed for  and  towards  building  and  erecting 
a  schoolhouse  in  Germantown,  by  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  said  town  and  divers  other  persons, 
according  to, certain  contributors.  And  whereas, 
the  said  contributors  at  a  general  meeting  had 
appointed  certain  Trustees  of  said  School  and 
Schoolhouse  for  the  building  and  erecting  of 
the  said  Schoolhouse.  And  whereas,  the  said 
Trustees  have  purchased  a  commodious  lot  of 
ground,  for  the  purpose  aforesaid,  and  the  said 
Trustees  and  Managers  are  now  met  together, 
in  order  to  prosecute  the  laudable  design  afore- 
said, and  have  mutually  agreed  in  the  following 
articles: 

First 

That  the  said  Managers  shall  with  all  con- 
venient   speed,    build  or  cause    to   be   built,   a 

15 


A  History  of  The  Germ  an  tow  n  Academy 

Commodious  large  Stone  House  agreeable  to 
the  plan  agreed  on  at  its  last  meeting  and  de- 
livered to  them  by  the  Trustees  afs'd;  and  for 
that  purpose  shall  agree  and  contract  with  any 
person  or  persons  for  materials  necessary;  and 
to  agree  and  contract  to  erect  and  build  the 
said  house. 

Second 

That  the  said  Managers  are  to  draw  orders 
on  the  Treasurer  of  the  said  School,  agreeable 
to  the  original  Articles  and  Concessions,  for  the 
payment  of  the  workmen  and  other  persons  of 
whom  the  materials  afs'd  shall  be  purchased; 
and  for  defraying  all  other  costs  and  expenses 
that  shall  arise  and  accrue  or  contracted  for  by 
the  managers  for  the  purpose  afores'd. 

Third 

That  the  Trustees  shall  call  the  Managers, 
Collectors  and  Treasurer  together,  a  month  at 
least  before  the  next  General  Meeting  of  the 
Contributors  ;  who  shall  make  a  report  of  their 
proceedings  in  writing  to  them,  the  s'd 
Trustees,  in  order  that  the  same  may  be  laid 
before  the  said  Contributors  at  the  said  meeting. 

Joseph  Galloway, 
in  behalf  of  and  by  order  of  the  Trustees. 

Christopher  Meng, 
in  behalf  of  and  by  order  of  the  Managers. 


i6 


Founding   the  School 

These  Articles,  referred  to  as  the  Fundamental 
Agreements  and  Concessions,  were  signed  by  Mana- 
gers, Treasurer,  Trustees  and  by  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  Contributors,  thirty-six  in  all,  at  the  meeting 
held  on  January  25,  1760.  At  the  meeting  held  on 
April  17,  1760,  it  was  agreed  to  have  two  hundred 
copies  of  these  agreements  printed  by  Sauer  for  distri- 
bution, and  now  these  little  pamphlets  are  quite  rare, 
and  have  become  bibliographical  treasures. 

That  the  "  managers  of  the  buildings "  did  not 
hold  their  positions  from  any  consideration  of  policy, 
and  that  their  office  was  not  ornamental  is  shown  in 
the  Order  Book  of  the  Trustees,  in  which  is  entered 
all  orders  on  the  Treasurer.  They  were,  all  of  them, 
practical  men,  in  their  different  lines  of  industry,  and 
the  Trustees  evidently  made  no  effort  to  have  the 
work  done  by  any  but  their  own  members  who  lived 
in  the  town,  Conrad  Weaver,  who  is  the  second 
mentioned  in  the  list,  owned  a  mill  on  Wingohocking 
Creek,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  site  of  the  new 
school,  and  furnished  some  of  the  material.  Baltus 
Reser,  who,  perhaps,  was  a  carpenter  or  lumber  dealer 
as  well  as  a  tanner,  was  paid  ^10  12s.  6d.,  for  "  squar- 
ing girders  and  for  wood ;"  George  Bringhurst,  a 
younger  brother  of  John  and,  like  him,  engaged  in 
building  carriages  and  wagons,  sold  thirty  perches  of 
stone  for  the  building,  for  £1^  los.;  Jacob  Coleman 
was  paid  £6  6s.  for  "  boring  girders,"  and  conse- 
quently may  have  been  a  carpenter  at  that  time ;  and 
Melcher  (John  Melchior)  Meng,  who  was  a  son  of 
John  Christopher  Meng,  received  £\^  is.  8d.,  for 
"  digging  the  cellar  and  other  services." 

17 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

Of  all  these  managers  of  buildings,  perhaps  the 
best  remembered  name  other  than  that  of  Meng  is 
that  of  John  Bringhurst.  His  name  has  been  given 
one  of  the  streets  of  Germantown  and  the  "  Bring- 
hurst Big  House,"  which  John  Bringhurst  built,  was, 
until  1909,  still  in  existence,  though  remodelled.  Its 
numbers  were  5233-37  Main  Street.  John  Bringhurst 
was  born  in  1725  and  died  in  1795.  Not  only  did  he 
erect  the  large  house  which  bears  his  name,  but  he 
owned  considerable  property  in  the  town,  and  is 
handed  down  to  history,  quite  apart  from  the  part  he 
played  in  founding  the  Germantown  Academy, 
through  building  a  chariot  for  George  Washington, 
in  which  vehicle  Mrs.  Washington  was  carried  from 
Philadelphia  to  Mt.  Vernon  in  June,  1780. 

Jacob  Colemen  is  best  known  to  fame  from  having 
been  the  enterprising  promoter  to  run  the  first  coach 
with  an  awning.  This  stage  plied  between  the  King 
of  Prussia  Inn,  already  mentioned,  and  the  George 
Inn  at  Second  and  Arch  Streets.  Both  these  ancient 
structures  are  still  in  existence,  but  both  are  greatly 
altered  from  the  time  when  both  were  stage-coach 
offices  and  inns.  Coleman  is  said  to  have  made  the 
innovation  in  stage  coaches  in  1761.  Like  the  other 
founders,  he  was  at  that  time  a  man  of  property,  own- 
ing lots  on  both  sides  of  the  Main  Street,  and  being 
neighbor  to  Dr.  Bensell  and  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Alsentz, 
of  whom  we  shall  speak  later. 

Peter  Leibert  was  a  fellow  both  in  religion  and 
craft  with  Christopher  Sauer,  Jr.  It  was  Sauer  who, 
as  a  Bishop  of  the  Brethren  or  Dunkards,  had  married 
Leibert,  in  1749,  to  Molly  Neiss,  and  it  was  Sauer,  too, 

18 


Founding   the  School 

who  taught  him  his  trade  of  printer.  It  is  evident, 
both  from  his  selection  as  a  member  of  the  Managers 
of  the  Building  of  the  Germantown  Union  School  and, 
later,  in  1775,  as  a  member  of  the  Building  Committee 
of  the  Concord  School  in  Upper  Germantown,  that 
Leibert,  like  many  another  Germantowner  of  early 
days,  had  knowledge  of  more  than  one  business.  It 
was  Leibert,  too,  who  had  charge  of  the  alterations 
that  were  made  in  the  Pettikoffer  House,  to  adapt  it 
to  the  meetings  of  the  Brethren,  whose  meeting  house 
was  afterwards  built  just  back  of  it,  and  still  stands,  a 
monument  ahke  to  the  piety  and  good  taste  of  the 
Dunkards.  Leibert  lived  across  the  way  from  the 
church  and  a  little  lower  down  Germantown  Road. 
When  the  Sauer  press  was  sold  in  1777,  "Leibert  and 
John  Dunlop,"  says  Dr.  Brumbaugh  in  his  "  History 
of  the  Brethren,"  "  purchased  most  of  the  printing 
material"  .  .  .  and  in  1784  the  former  established,  in 
connection  with  Michael  Billmeyer,  a  printing  estab- 
lishment in  Germantown.  This  was  situated  on  the 
Billmeyer  property,  at  the  northern  corner  of  German- 
town  Avenue  and  Upsal  Street,  the  house  upon  whose 
horse-block  General  Washington  is  said  to  have  stood 
for  a  while  directing  the  attack  upon  the  Chew  House  to 
the  southeastward.  In  1791  Leibert's  son,  William, 
took  the  place  in  the  firm  his  son-in-law,  Billmeyer,  had 
held  until  1788.  In  1787  Leibert  became  a  Trustee  of 
the  Germantown  Academy,  holding  office  until  1799. 
Leibert  lived  to  the  great  age  of  85,  dying  on  June  9, 
1 8 12,  and  being  buried  in  the  graveyard  of  the 
Church  of  the  Brethren,  Germantown. 

Jacob    Engle,  of  the  Managers  of  the   Building, 

19 


A  History   of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

was  the  son  of  Paul  Engle,  one  of  the  earliest  settlers 
in  the  town,  and  mentioned  as  one  of  those  natural- 
ized in  the  year  1709,  when,  in  order  to  hold  lands, 
the  Germans  had  to  take  the  oath  of  fealty  and  alle- 
giance. At  the  time  the  school  was  in  process  of  for- 
mation Jacob  Engle  was  owner  of  one  of  the  lots  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  town  on  what  is  now  Johnson  Street. 
Jacob  Engle  had  been  sent  to  the  school  of  Pastorius. 
He  was,  as  was  his  neighbor  Leibert,  also  of  the 
building  committee  of  the  Concord  School.  The  fam- 
ily were  tanners  and  shoemakers. 

Some  of  the  members  of  the  first  Board  of  Trustees 
have  been  described,  but  there  are,  in  the  list  given  a 
few  pages  back,  a  few  that  have  not  before  been  men- 
tioned. The  certain  agreements  and  concessions  were 
signed  by  thirty-six  contributors,  and  it  may  be 
assumed  that  many  of  these  signers  had  attended  the 
previous  meetings.  They  may  well  be  entitled  to  the 
honorable  title  of  founders ;  but  we  are  now  more 
interested  in  discovering  who  were  the  men  of  action 
who  succeeded  in  giving  form  to  a  most  ambitious 
scheme  for  educating  youth.  It  will  be  noted  that 
there  was  no  president  or  chairman  regularly  provided, 
and  this  custom  was  followed  by  the  Trustees  for 
many  years,  the  meetings  probably  being  presided 
over  by  a  member  selected  on  each  occasion.  The 
Treasurer  was  the  only  officer  elected,  and  to  this 
important  office  great  care  seems  to  have  governed  the 
selection.  Richard  Johnson,  the  first  treasurer,  was 
the  son  of  Dirk  Jansen,  as  the  name  was  first  written, 
who  came  to  Germantown  from  Holland  in  the  year 
1700.     The  Jansens  or  Johnsons  were  members  of  the 

20 


Founding   the  School 

Society  of  Friends,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that 
for  a  century  or  more  a  member  of  that  family  has 
been  represented  on  the  Board  of  Trustees.  No  Ger- 
mantown  family  has  maintained  so  close  a  connection 
with  the  interests  of  the  old  Academy,  certainly  none 
can  point  to  a  period  of  interest  in  the  institution's 
welfare  that  is  so  extensive  as  theirs.  Dirk  (for 
which  in  English  we  read  Richard)  Jansen,  purchased 
lot  No.  17  of  the  Town  lots  towards  the  Schuylkill. 
This,  and  other  property  purchased  by  the  first  of  the 
family  in  the  town,  comprised  about  fifty  acres,  and 
through  lot  No.  17,  which  extended  to  the  western 
limit  of  the  town  on  the  old  Township  Lane,  the 
present  Walnut  Lane  was  cut.  The  Johnsons  were  a 
numerous  family.  Richard,  this  first  Treasurer  of  the 
Germantown  Union  School,  was  a  pupil  of  Pastorius, 
and  married  Ann  Brinckley.  His  brother  John  mar- 
ried Agnes  Klincken.  In  1765  Richard  sold  part  of 
his  property  lying  east  of  the  Main  Street  to  Benjamin 
Chew,  who  thus  was  enabled  to  extend  the  grounds  of 
Cliveden. 

Thomas  Rose,  of  the  first  Trustees  was  one  of  the 
assessors  of  the  town  and  the  first  clerk  of  the  School's 
Board.  He  was  part  owner  of  the  original  lot  No.  8 
of  the  section  on  the  East  side  of  Main  Street,  de- 
scribed as  the  City  lots  towards  Bristol,  and,  in  1764, 
we  find  his  name  in  the  list  of  subscribers  to  the  fire 
engine,  Shagrag,  the  result  of  the  first  organized  effort 
in  the  town  to  provide  fire  protection.  Jacob  Keyser, 
mentioned  as  another  Trustee,  was  a  tanner.  His 
family  were  tanners  and  shoemakers  and  part  of  their 
original  tannery  is  still  to  be  seen.    Jacob  was  a  grand- 

21 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

son  of  Dirck  Keyser,  the  founder  of  the  family  in 
Germantown,  and  one  of  the  earliest  colonists.  His 
father's  name  was  Dirck,  and  he  became  one  of  the  heirs 
to  the  Keysers'  property,  which  included  lot  No.  22  of 
the  City  or  Town-lots  Towards  Bristol,  and  the  so- 
called  side-lot  of  the  corresponding  number  on  the 
section  noted  as  Towards  Bristol.  Jacob  Keyser  also 
should  be  noted  as  one  of  the  subscribers  to  the  first 
fire-fighting  apparatus  in  the  town.  Of  John  Bowman 
little  is  known.  He  is  mentioned  as  part  owner,  in 
1776,  of  No.  19  of  the  Town-lots  Towards  Bristol,  and 
as  owner,  with  Paul  Engle,  of  Side-lot  Towards  Bristol 
of  the  corresponding  number.  His  public  spirit  and 
his  prominence  may  be  assumed  from  the  fact  that  he 
was  one  of  the  subscribers  of  the  first  fire  company 
already  mentioned,  and  from  the  fact  that  a  street  was 
named  for  the  family.  This,  formerly  Bowman's  Lane 
and  Falls  Lane,  is  now  Queen  Lane,  being  shortened 
from  Indian  Queen  Lane. 

Livezey  is  a  name  associated  with  the  Wissahickon, 
and  the  old  family  homestead  may  still  be  seen.  This 
Thomas  Livezey,  who  was  one  of  the  Trustees,  was  a 
miller,  who  had  his  mill  on  the  Wissahickon,  at  the 
foot  of  Livezey's  Lane.  Beside  his  grist  mill  Thomas 
Livezey  lived  for  many  years,  and  cultivated  a  large 
farm  and  cared  for  a  fine  vineyard  on  the  hillside,  from 
which  the  wine  he  drank  at  table  came.  His  wine, 
indeed,  brought  him  a  little  modest  renown,  for  Robert 
Wharton  sent  a  dozen  bottles  of  it  to  Franklin.  One 
of  Livezey's  daughters,  Rachel,  married  a  son  of  John 
Johnson,  a  brother  of  Richard  Johnson,  the  School's 
Treasurer.    Livezey,  who  was  Provincial  Commissioner 

22 


Founding    the   School 

in  1765,  was  long  a  friend  of  Joseph  Galloway,  and 
while  interested  in  the  law  himself,  enjoyed  an  oppor- 
tunity to  playfully  cast  aspersions  upon  its  practition- 
ers. In  a  long  piece  of  easy  verse,  which  he  sent  to 
Galloway,  under  date  of  "Roxborough,  12th  mo.  14th, 
1765,"  he  refers  to  his  secluded  home  as  "this  lonely 
seat  of  bliss,"  and  continues  : 

"This  is  the  place  of  my  abode,  where  humbly  here  I  dwell, 
Which,  in  romantic  Lawyer  mood,  thou  hast  compared  to  Hell, 
But  Paradise  where  Adam  dwelt  in  blissful  love  and  ease, 
A  Lawyer  would  compare  to  hell,  if  thence  he  got  no  fees. 
Canst  thou  prefer  thy  Heaven  on  earth — thy  fee  the  Root  of  Evil — 
To  this  my  lovely  harmless  place, — my  Hell  without  a  Devil  ?" 

Livezey,  who  attained  a  rare  old  age,  died  in  the  year 
1790. 

David  Deshler  was  one  of  those  men  with  sense  of 
honor  and  moral  obligation  so  conspicuous  that  his 
fellows  referred  to  him  as  "Honest  David  Deshler," 
or  said,  as  of  a  patent  truth,  "as  honest  as  David 
Deshler."  Deshler  was  a  native  of  Baden,  who,  after 
prospering  as  a  merchant  in  Philadelphia,  again  sought 
the  society  of  his  countrymen  by  purchasing  a  country 
seat  in  Germantown.  On  the  map  of  1776  he  is  men- 
tioned as  being  one  of  the  owners  of  lot  No.  9,  of  the 
Town-lots  Towards  Schuylkill.  This  lot  fronted  on 
Main  Street,  and  it  was  the  house  he  built  here  in 
1772-3,  now  numbered  5442,  that  became  famous  as 
the  home  of  Washington  during  the  yellow-fever  epi- 
demic in  Philadelphia  in  1793.  For  a  few  months  it 
was  the  Executive  Mansion  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment in  Philadelphia.  Deshler's  business  in  Philadel- 
phia, which  was  that  of  a  hardware  merchant,  was 
located   at  what,   in   1791,  was  numbered  97   Market 

23 


A  History  of  The  German  town  Academy 

Street.  His  counting-house  was  located  on  the  North 
side  of  the  street  between  Second  and  Third  Streets, 
about  five  doors  west  of  Grindstone  Alley.  Mrs. 
Deshler  is  said  to  have  given  her  name  to  a  curative 
that  once  was  much  used,  and  probably  still  is  remem- 
bered. She  is  said  to  have  obtained  the  recipe  from 
a  butcher  for  £^^  and  when  a  suffering  world  first  knew 
of  it,  it  was  called  "Butcher's  Salve";  but  other  gen- 
erations welcomed  it  as  "Deshler's  Salve."  Although 
the  firm  of  Deshler  and  Roberts  is  noted  as  "iron- 
mongers" in  the  Philadelphia  Directory  for  1791,  they 
were  doing  a  more  extensive  business  than  that  term 
might  indicate.  They  were  in  the  commercial  lan- 
guage of  the  times  "merchants,"  and  it  is  said  that 
their  business  interests  extended  even  to  the  remote 
East  Indies.  Success  crowned  their  efforts,  and  Desh- 
ler accumulated  a  valuable  estate.  Mrs.  Deshler  died 
during  the  Revolution,  and  he  was  laid  at  rest  in  1792, 
when  the  stone  house  he  built  passed  into  other  hands. 

The  Rev.  John  George  Alsentz,  or  Alsantz,  for  the 
name  is  found  spelled  each  way,  was  the  pastor  of  the 
German  Reformed  Church,  where  often,  it  is  said,  the 
Rev.  Michael  Schlatter,  with  whose  views  on  education 
the  elder  Sauer  did  not  agree,  preached.  He  was  the 
eighth  pastor  of  this  congregation,  which  has  now  for 
many  years  been  known  as  the  Market  Square  Presby- 
terian Church.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Alsentz  took  charge 
of  the  congregation  in  1758,  and  under  his  pastorate, 
which  did  not  terminate  until  1767,  he  doubled  the 
size  of  the  original  building  by  erecting  an  addition  to 
it  in  the  rear. 

Jacob  Naglee,  who  had  stamped  his  name  on  the 

24 


Founding   the  School 

elevation  which  seems  to  form  a  natural  boundary  on 
the  south  of  Germantown,  lived  in  a  rambling,  expan- 
sive two-story  house,  now  numbered  4518-4520  Main 
Street.  This  house  was  erected  by  James  Logan 
between  the  years  1727  and  1734,  while  Logan  was 
awaiting  the  completion  of  Stenton.  Naglee  followed 
him  in  possession  of  the  building  and  part  of  the 
grounds,  being  noted  in  1766  as,  with  James  and 
William  Logan,  owner  of  what  appears  as  lots  ic  and 
2  of  the  Side-lots  Towards  Bristol.  Naglee  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Fishing  Company  of  Fort  St. 
Davids. 

Benjamin  Engle  probably  was  the  Shem  Engle 
mentioned  in  the  list  of  members  of  the  Fort  St. 
Davids  Fishing  Company  in  1763.  He  built,  in  1758, 
the  house  known  by  his  name,  now  numbered  5938 
Main  Street,  He  was  brother  to  the  Jacob  Engle 
already  mentioned,  and  probably,  Hke  his  father,  was  a 
tanner  and  shoemaker.  It  is  said  his  father  declined, 
in  the  year  1703,  from  conscientious  scruples,  the 
office  of  chief  burgess.  His  grave  in  the  Httle  bury- 
ing-ground  on  the  Skippack  is  marked  by  its  oldest- 
dated  stone,  bearing  the  year  of  his  death,  1723. 

Of  Joseph  Galloway,  the  man  of  all  those  concerned 
in  the  founding  of  the  school  who  loomed  largest  in 
the  little  colonial  world  of  that  time,  and  who  was 
afterwards  to  loom  still  larger  in  England  as  well  as  in 
America,  we  fortunately  know  a  good  deal,  far  more 
than  there  is  space  here  to  record.  He  was  at  this 
time  a  well-known  lawyer,  whose  Friendly  parentage 
had  not  prevented  him,  and  at  an  early  age,  from  tak- 
ing  to   worldly   ways.     Management   of   his   father's 

25 


A  History  of  The  Germ antown  Academy 

estate  led  him  naturally  into  law,  and  he  was  at  this 
time  a  well-known  authority  upon  real  estate  and 
contracts. 

Galloway  was  one  of  those  remarkable  men  who,  in 
their  time,  are  so  active  and  so  necessary  that  the  im- 
pression they  make  is  believed  by  their  contempo- 
raries to  be  so  deep  as  to  be  indelible;  yet  who,  when 
they  pass  off  the  stage  of  their  activities,  are  forgotten 
by  their  associates  and  neglected  by  history. 
Galloway,  however,  has  been  re-established  in  reputa- 
tion through  the  industry  of  Dr.  Ernest  H.  Baldwin, 
whose  effective  study  of  the  man  is  to  be  found  in  the 
pages  of  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History  and 
Biography  for  the  year  1902.  Born  in  the  town  of 
West  River,  in  Anne  Arundel  County,  Maryland,  in 
the  year  1731,  Galloway  came  of  a  family  that  had  ac- 
quired considerable  land  of  Lord  Baltimore.  When 
he  was  about  nine  years  old,  his  father,  Peter  Galloway, 
removed  with  his  family  to  Kent,  upon  the  Delaware, 
below  Philadelphia.  Not  long  after  this  removal,  the 
elder  Galloway  died,  leaving  a  large  estate,  and  as  this 
required  intelligent  management,  young  Galloway,  as 
stated  above,  came  to  Philadelphia  to  study  law.  How 
rapidly  he  proceeded  in  his  chosen  profession  may  be 
imagined  from  the  fact  that  before  he  was  twenty  years 
old  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  Province.  He  was  early  a  member  of  the 
Schuylkill  Fishing  Company.  He  married,  in  1753, 
Grace  Growden,  the  daughter  of  Lawrence  Growden, 
a  former  Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  and  a  member  of 
the  family  which  owned  the  famous  iron-works  at 
Durham,  on  the   Pennsylvania  side   of   the  Delaware, 

26 


Founding    the   School 

below  Easton.  Thus,  at  twenty-three,  Joseph 
Galloway  was  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  Philadel- 
phia, a  man  of  means,  and  husband  of  an  heiress. 

Although,  as  has  been  related,  Joseph  Galloway 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  Friends,  his  lineage  and  his  associates,  to  a  large 
extent,  seem  to  have  been  Quakers.  In  1756  affairs  in 
the  Province  were  unsettled.  The  French  and  Indian 
War  was  proceeding  ;  a  Militia  Law,  which,  while  not 
making  service  compulsory,  showed  which  way  the 
political  wind  was  blowing,  had  been  passed,  and  it 
became  necessary  for  the  Assembly  to  raise  troops  and 
vote  them  supplies.  The  Quakers  remaining  true  to 
their  cardinal  principles,  did  not  care  to  be  put  on 
record  as  voting  for  war,  so  they  extricated  themselves 
from  an  awkward  situation  by  declining  re-election. 
But  they  had  no  intention  of  abandoning  their  political 
supremacy,  and  while  they  wanted  the  troops  and 
supplies  voted,  so  that  their  tranquility  might  not  be 
threatened  by  having  the  French  or  Indians  reach 
Philadelphia  and  sack  the  capital  of  the  Province,  they 
decided  to  send  in  their  places  to  the  Assembly  men 
who  would  have  no  similar  scruples,  and  who,  at  the 
same  time,  could  be  trusted.  Galloway,  by  reason  of 
his  ability,  his  talents,  and  above  all,  by  his  sympathy 
for  the  Quakers,  was  one  of  the  men  elected  to  the 
Assembly  at  this  time,  1756.  Immediately  Franklin, 
then  the  leader  of  the  Assembly  Party,  as  distinguished 
from  the  Governor's  Party,  made  the  young  lawyer  his 
assistant,  and  when,  the  following  year,  the  great 
Utilitarian  departed  for  London  to  represent  his 
Province,  the  leadership  fell  into  the  hands  of  Galloway. 

27 


A  History  of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

That  so  keen  and  discerning  a  critic  of  men  as  Frank- 
lin should  have  entrusted  the  leadership  to  a  man  of 
twenty-seven  or  twenty-eight  years,  is  indicative  of  the 
trustworthiness  and  useful  talents  of  his  successor. 

Galloway  entered  Pennsylvania  politics  during  their 
stormiest  period  in  the  eighteenth  century.  Factional 
differences  never  were  so  bitterly  discussed,  and  this 
being  an  age  of  pamphleteering,  there  came  from  the 
presses  in  Philadelphia  numerous  satires  and  much 
controversial  literature.  While  attacks  on  men  and 
principles  and  events  were  made  with  a  force  that  often 
overstepped  the  bounds  of  decency,  perhaps,  for  that 
reason,  as  well  as  to  enable  their  authors  to  cover  their 
retreat  if  a  libel  suit  followed,  almost  without  exception, 
these  energetic  and  often  untruthful  "  exposures  "  of 
the  "  other  side  "  or  the  "  opposition  "  were  issued 
anonymously.  Franklin,  having  been  guilty  in  previous 
times  of  exposing  abuses  or  persons  not  to  his  liking, 
under  the  safety  of  anonymity,  frequently  was  blamed 
for  some  of  these  printed  attacks,  but  it  has  since  been 
discovered  that,  at  most,  he  only  inspired  some  of  them. 

In  the  years  1755  and  1756  there  appeared  in  Brad- 
ford's bookstore  two  pamphlets  that  gave  great  concern 
to  the  Quakers,  who  justly  felt  scandalized  by  them. 
These  not  only  appeared  without  the  name  of  their 
author,  but  they  bore  imprints  that  gave  the  impres- 
sion they  were  printed  in  London.  It  is  believed  upon 
the  strongest  circumstantial  evidence  that  they  were 
printed  in  Philadelphia  and,  even  at  the  time  they  were 
being  read  by  the  Quaker  Party,  it  was  well  enough 
known  to  be  common  property  that  they  were  written 
by  the  Provost  of  the  College  and  Academy,  the  Rev. 

28 


Founding   the  School 

William  Smith.  The  young  Provost  had  taken  an 
active  hand  in  the  politics  of  his  time,  and  feeling  it 
necessary  to  use  any  means  in  his  power  to  defeat  the 
Quakers  and  others  who  were  in  opposition  to  the 
Proprietary  Party,  launched  determinedly  into  the 
paper  war.  The  writing  of  anonymous  pamphlets, 
showing  what  he  regarded  as  the  scandalous  and  un- 
patriotic attitude  of  the  Quakers,  and  demanding  that 
they  be  forbidden  the  right  of  membership  in  the 
Assembly,  might  make  him  unpopular  with  those 
interests,  and  might  advance  his  personal  ends.  At 
any  rate,  the  consequences  were  not  likely  to  be 
serious.  Yet  they  had,  what  he  probably  could  not 
have  foreseen  at  that  time,  made  an  antagonist  of  Gal- 
loway, who  had  then  only  entered  the  Assembly.  It 
was  unfortunate  for  Dr.  Smith  that  he  had  made  a 
political  enemy  of  this  man,  for  the  following  year  he 
was  to  find  him  acting  as  prosecutor  for  the  Assembly, 
before  which  he,  himself,  stood  charged  with  having 
libelled  that  august  body. 

His  love  for  pamphleteering  was  responsible  in  a 
measure  for  the  Provost's  position,  and  it  is  not  un- 
likely that  the  more  romantic  reason — that  of  coming 
to  the  assistance  of  the  father  of  a  beautiful  heiress,  who 
had  not  discouraged  the  young  clergyman's  attentions 
— was  an  equally  prominent  factor.  William  Moore, 
of  Moore  Hall,  was  a  man  of  great  landed  interests  in 
Chester  County,  where  he  was  a  judge  of  the  County 
Court,  and  whence  he  was  elected  to  a  seat  in  the 
Assembly.  Being  an  influential  friend  of  the  Pro- 
prietaries, he  took  an  active  part  in  the  disputes 
between   the   Assembly   and    the    Governor,    in    the 

29 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

Autumn  of  the  year  1775.  He  wrote  to  the  Assembly 
that  two  thousand  men  in  Chester  County  were 
coming  down  to  the  Capital  to  compel  the  Legislature 
to  pass  a  proper  militia  law,  and,  closely  following  this 
threat,  the  Assembly  received  petitions  complaining  of 
Judge  Moore's  tyranny,  extortion  and  unjudicial 
demeanor.  Finally,  the  Assembly  asked  for  his  re- 
moval from  office.  The  following  year  an  article, 
ostensibly  written  by  Judge  Moore,  was  printed  in 
several  of  the  Philadelphia  newspapers,  among  them 
Franklin  and  Hall's  "Gazette."  In  this  piece  of  invective 
against  the  Assembly,  the  Judge  did  not  search  for 
cunning  synonyms,  or  seek  to  sugar-coat  his  unpalatable 
statements.  He  referred  to  the  action  of  the  Legislature 
as  "  virulent  and  scandalous,"  and  as  a  "  continued 
string  of  the  severest  calumny  and  rancorous  epithets 
conceived,  in  all  the  terms  of  malice  and  party  rage." 
He  also  declared  that  the  action  was  based  upon 
petitions  procured  by  a  member  and  tool  of  the 
Assembly  at  a  tavern,  when  the  signers  were  incapable 
of  knowing  what  they  did. 

Judge  Moore's  arraignment  of  the  Assembly  ap- 
peared on  October  19,  1757,  and  shortly  afterward 
the  new  Legislature,  mainly  composed  of  members 
returned  by  the  election,  took  their  seats.  For  the 
honor  of  the  body,  one  of  the  earliest  official  acts  of 
the  Assembly  was  to  issue  a  warrant  for  Moore's 
arrest,  and  a  warrant  for  the  Rev.  Dr.  Smith  was  also 
issued,  it  having  been  surmised  that  he  was  the  real 
author  of  the  offending  document.  Joseph  Galloway, 
the  young  leader,  was  the  sponsor  of  this  action. 
When  the  petitions  had  been  flooding  the  Assembly 

30 


Founding   the  School 

denouncing  the  Judge  and  calling  for  his  removal,  that 
body  appeared  to  be  unmoved,  but  referred  them  to 
the  Committee  on  Grievances.  Then  Galloway,  dis- 
covering a  chance  to  repay  the  Proprietary  Party  and 
the  Provost  in  their  own  coin,  took  up  the  matter  when 
it  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Grievances,  to 
which  he  had  been  appointed  in  the  place  of  Franklin. 
As  a  result  of  the  investigation  that  followed  it  was 
decided  that  Moore  ought  to  be  removed  from  office, 
and  Galloway  was  assigned  to  the  duty  of  preparing 
the  address  to  the  Governor.  This  he  did,  and  then 
no  further  action  was  taken  until  the  session  of  1757. 
In  the  meantime  the  libellous  article  was  published. 
Once  more,  Galloway  had  what  evidently  he  regarded 
as  a  pleasant  duty,  that  of  leading  the  prosecution  of 
the  offender,  he  having  been  chosen  to  draw  up  the 
articles  of  impeachment.  The  Governor  naturally 
refused  all  requests  made  for  Moore's  removal,  but  he 
could  not  keep  either  the  Judge  or  the  Provost  out  of 
the  Walnut  Street  jail,  where  they  remained  until  the 
Assembly  was  dissolved. 

It  has  been  thought  worth  while  to  record  this 
episode  of  the  young  lawyer's  career  in  some  detail,  as 
it  perhaps  led  to  some  of  the  enthusiasm  with  which 
he  espoused  the  cause  of  the  School  in  Germantown,  a 
school  that  might  become  a  rival  of  the  College  and 
Academy  of  Philadelphia.  Why  he  left  the  Board  of 
the  School  in  1769  is  not  known,  but  perhaps  his 
activities  as  Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  to  which  office  he 
had  been  chosen  in  1766,  and  which  he  held  until  1774, 
required  so  much  time  in  themselves  and  in  the  duties 
they  involved  him  in,  that  he  had  no  longer  time  to 

31 


A  History   of  The  Germantoivn  Academy 

give  to  the  School.  Perhaps,  too,  in  the  re-align- 
ment of  interests  brought  about  by  the  disturbances 
following  on  the  Stamp  Act,  his  attitude  toward 
Provost  Smith  was  changed.  In  1774  Galloway  sub- 
mitted a  plan  of  union — a  plan,  really,  of  imperial  feder- 
ation— by  which  the  American  colonies  were  still  to  be 
in  allegiance  to  England,  but  with  autonomy  in  their 
own  affairs.  "  The  plan,"  writes  Dr.  Baldwin,  "  pro- 
vided for  a  union  of  Great  Britain  and  the  thirteen 
American  colonies,  by  means  of  a  British-American 
Legislature,  consisting  of  a  President-General  and 
Grand  Council,  forming  an  inferior  branch  of  the 
British  Parliament  and  incorporated  with  it  .  .  . 
The  President-General  was  to  be  appointed  by,  and 
hold  office  during  the  pleasure  of,  the  King  .... 
The  Grand  Council  was  to  consist  of  representatives 
chosen  by  the  Colonial  Assemblies  once  in  every  three 
years  ;  representation  was  to  be  proportional." 

Galloway  has  been  severely  attacked  by  some 
historians  as  a  traitor  to  his  country,  but  it  should 
always  be  remembered  that,  while  he  was  an  advocate 
of  measures  designed  to  compel  England  to  redress 
the  grievances  of  the  colonists,  he  was  always  too 
wanting  in  trust  of  the  common  people  to  favor  really 
democratic  government,  and  always  too  strongly 
attached,  sentimentally,  to  England,  to  favor  absolute 
separation.  When  independence  was  imminent,  Gallo- 
way took  sides  with  the  loyalists  and,  thereafter, 
despite  all  persuasion  and  threatening,  stood  stead- 
fastly by  his  King.  He  left  Philadelphia,  joined  the 
royal  army  in  New  York  in  December,  1777,  accom- 
panied it  into  New  Jersey  and  Philadelphia,  remaining 

32 


Founding  the    School 

in  this  city  until  its  evacuation  by  the  British  in  1778, 
when  he  went  to  England. 

In  1779  Galloway  was  examined  before  the  House 
of  Commons  with  regard  to  the  doings  of  the  British 
in  America,  and  his  testimony  did  not  do  credit  to  the 
British  commanders.  He  attributed  the  failure  of  the 
British  cause  largely  to  Lord  Howe. 

In  1788  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  confiscated  the 
estates  of  Galloway,  which  were  estimated  to  be  worth 
;^40,ooo.  A  large  portion  of  this  property,  however, 
was  afterward  restored  to  his  daughter.  Galloway 
never  returned  to  this  country,  dying  at  Watford, 
Hertfordshire,  England,  on  August  29,  1803.  The 
publications  of  Galloway  were  numerous,  including 
"  Letters  to  a  Nobleman  on  the  Conduct  of  the  War 
in  the  Middle  Colonies,"  addressed  to  Lord  Howe 
(1779)  ;  "  Historical  and  Political  Reflections  on  the 
American  Rebellion"  (London,  1780);  "Brief  Com- 
mentaries Upon  the  Revelation  and  Other  Prophecies 
as  Immediately  Refer  to  the  Present  Times,  in  Which 
the  Several  Allegorical  Types  and  Expressions  of 
those  Prophecies  are  Translated  unto  Three  Literal 
Meanings"  (1802);  "Cool  Thoughts  on  the  Con- 
sequences of  the  American  Independence  ;  "  "  Candid 
Examination  of  the  Claims  of  Great  Britain  and  her 
Colonies  ;  "  "  Reflections  on  the  American  Rebellion." 

Enthusiasm  for  their  "laudable  design"  did  not 
cause  the  founders  of  the  School  to  neglect  the  very 
necessary  and  practical  feature  of  that  founding — the 
funds  and  financial  support  essential  to  success.  The 
printer  Sauer  produced  some  neatly  printed  subscrip- 
tion blanks  which  were  handed  to  those  men  of  sub- 

33 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

stance  looked  upon  as  favorable  to  the  project.  These 
blanks  contained  the  following  details  of  the  scheme 
proposed  : 

"Whereas  the  education  of  the  Youth  in  usefull 
Learning,  and  in  proper  regular  Mannerly,  well-quali- 
fied Persons,  being  a  Matter  of  great  Moment  and 
concern  to  all  thinking  People,  and  regular  and  neces- 
sary Plans  for  Purpose  laudable  and  commendable: 
It  has  for  a  considerable  time  past,  been  desired  by 
the  Inhabitants  of  Germantown  to  lay  some  foundation 
of  that  kind  ;  in  Order,  and  from  a  well-grounded 
Expectation,  that  the  same  may  be  improved  hereafter. 
.  .  .  That  the  said  Schoolhouse  shall  be  free  to  all 
Persons  of  what  Denomination  soever  and  wheresoever 
residing,  to  send  their  Children  thereto,  without  any 
regard  to  Name  or  Sect  of  People  ;  provided  they  be 
regular  and  subject  to  the  proper  and  necessary  Regu- 
lations of  the  Master  and  Trustees." 

During  the  first  year  the  subscriptions  amounted 
to  the  then  very  considerable  sum  of  ^1120  2s.  id. 
Some  of  the  subscriptions  noted  in  the  books  are  not 
without  interest.  We  find,  for  instance,  that  Christo- 
pher Sauer,  Jr.,  gave  ^50  from  his  father's  estate  and 
£20  in  his  own  name ;  Dirk  Jansen,  ;^20,  and  his  son, 
the  Treasurer,  ^25,  and  his  son,  John,  ^15;  Benjamin 
Engle  put  his  name  down  for  ^^15;  George  Bensell, 
brother  to  Dr.  Charles  Bensell,  £1^];  and  Dr.  Bensell, 
/^20.  The  collectors  made  returns  as  follows  :  Daniel 
Mackinett,  £^1'^  6s.  6d.;  John  Jones,  £ic,6  14s.;  Chris- 
topher Sauer,  /"i89  15s.;  Charles  Bensell,  ^162  12s.  6d.; 
David  Deshler,  £^2  los.;  Richard  Johnson,  £'}^2  4s. 
id.;  Baltus  Reser,  ^20  5s.;  John  Van  Deering,  £1^]  ; 
Daniel  Endt,  £()  los.;  Christopher  Meng,  £6  5s. 

34 


WHEREAS  the  Erfurannn  offoe  Ynuth  in  ufefc  I  I^rmr 
Mfflncr  by  wrli  qualified  Pcrf.t»,  being  »  Mf=f  »'  B'« 
thmkina  People,  acxJ  reRulnr  Mid  nectlTiry  Plans  for  ihat 
memiable :  Ic  has  Sr  »  inlWerable  Tiine  wfl  been  moch  defired  hv 
"^^ro  lay  feme  FcHUidaiion  otrhat  hd,m  Order,  and  from  «  .^ 
lliM  tile  lime  ray  be  improved  upon  hctcafter 


■efore  ! 


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lid  in  <  proper  repilM 
',mcm  &  concern  to  ali 
rpofe  laudable  &  com- 
inWmants  ofOrrmm- 
grnunded  ElCI>ocV2tluii, 
',1c  Number  ol  (he  diiti 
l"  hXi^ms  of  ib^  faid  Tovvn,  anZiTfo  fame  Inhlbiiartb  ot  the  adjactm    '""^/''^"''ir'^,'",SJr2 

r  r(5:;iif.t't^.-«- ^for^.""  ^  "'f  "^^^ 

build  and  creft  a  School  hou(e  on  t^ie  [  u.li^K  uroui  fu.,ft.,nrul  BuiWuiE,  properly 

Town,  the  enfuinR  Sprinc  and  Summer,  i^  »*  ''T '^ '".°=,J  P' p  ,„/'Vnd  ]o  be  connnuerTfor 
accomodated  ^'•■i.'^^'P'^  f"'"""A^^°t<'^!  T.  i  m  ^Sher  L  e  whaifoever,  .nd  ro  be  fub- 

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^"^rarteL™'l:.:Jot;^fc  S  be  a^e  to  a„  Pe^^n,  o,    what  Denotn.at^^^ 

pS-;;;^tfe;^c;^^^^;^;^^^i^o;:^^"S  S;;'i.e^ut..n.  orth. 

l^lS£lZ.>:X'^^«g  to  any  PI  J^hich  may  bcr^her  be  rc^a,.  agreed  upon  by  the 
in  Forwardnefs  atvJ  Materals  preparing  for  the  SanKL  ^ 


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The  First  Subscription  for  Building  the  Schoolhouse 
Photographed  from  the  Original   Document 


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Reverse  of  Managers'  Building  Account 
Photographed  from  the  Original  Document 


CHAPTER  II 
Opening  the  School,  August  io,  1761 

THROUGH  the  vivifying  medium  of  the 
minutes  of  the  Trustees,  we  have  been  able 
to  watch  the  long-cherished  scheme  take 
form.  Joseph  Galloway,  the  lawyer,  and 
the  authority  on  contracts,  has  drawn  up  with  full  legal 
phraseology  the  agreements  by  which  the  organization 
bound  itself  to  do  certain  things.  It  bears  no  resem- 
blance to  modern  Constitutions  and  By-Laws,  but  it 
answered  the  purpose  of  the  men  and  their  time. 
With  money  and  subscriptions  being  received,  and 
a  piece  of  ground  all  but  purchased,  there  was  still 
much  to  be  accomplished  before  the  concrete  sub- 
stance— the  actual  building  with  its  equipment,  its 
masters  and  its  pupils — was  to  be  realized. 

At  the  meeting  held  on  February  8,  1760,  the 
Managers  laid  before  the  assemblage  a  draft  of  the 
Schoolhouse  and  of  the  houses  for  the  masters,  "  the 
which  was  also  agreed  on,  the  Dimensions  settled  in 
every  part  and  the  Managers  were  to  proceed  and  go 
on  with  the  same  agreeable  to  the  Draft  and  Dimen- 
sions agreed  on  as  soon  as  the  season  and  other  cir- 
cumstances w'd  permit ;  but  the  estimation  of  the 
costs  of  s'd  Buildings  could  not  be  made  until  the 
plans  as  afores'd  was  agreed  on."  We  learn  further 
from  the  minutes  of  this  meeting  that,  "  upon  the 
motion  being  made  that  the  said  School  House  should 
have  a  name  peculiar  to  itself  it  was  agreed  that 
the  same  be  hereafter  called  and  known  by  the  name 
of  the  Germantown  Union  School  House." 

35 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  Academy 

On  April  17,  1760,  the  deed  for  the  lot  was  pro- 
duced and  was  executed  by  John  Bringhurst  and  his 
wife,  and  George  Bringhurst,  who  had  been  paid  in 
full  on  April  loth,  "which,  with  the  Fundamental  Arti- 
cles of  Agreements  and  Concessions,  and  a  book  to 
keep  the  Treasurer's  accounts,  was  put  into  the  care 
and  custody  of  the  Treasurer  together  with  a  chest  to 
hold  the  same,  for  all  of  which  he  has  given  his  receipt 
to  the  Trustees,  which  receipt  is  put  into  the  hands  of 
Thomas  Rose  for  the  present." 

It  may  be  assumed  that  work  on  the  operation  had 
been  begun,  for  five  days  later  the  masons  began  to 
lay  the  foundation  of  the  Schoolhouse.  It  is  not  known 
just  what  exercises  were  held  on  this  occasion,  but  Dr. 
M.  G.  Brumbaugh,  in  commenting  on  the  one  absence 
of  Christopher  Sauer  from  the  meetings  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees,  during  the  time  he  was  a  member,  which 
absence  was  on  this  day,  observes  that  "the  building 
was  dedicated  with  Masonic  rites."  From  the 
Trustees'  Books,  however,  we  learn  that  all  of  the 
Board,  save  Sauer  and  Galloway,  were  present,  the 
latter  being  kept  away  by  public  business.  And  it  is 
not  hazarding  too  much  to  say  that  probably  the  curi- 
osity of  the  town  was  sufficiently  inflamed  to  cause 
many  to  visit  the  spot  and  see  Christopher  Meng 
superintend,  and,  most  likely,  himself  lay  the  four 
corner  stones  for  the  building  that  was  to  open  a  new 
era  to  the  little  town.  Those  specifically  mentioned 
as  present  on  this  historic  occasion  were  John  Jones, 
John  Bowman,  Jacob  Naglee,  Benjamin  Engle,  Daniel 
Mackinett,  Dr.  Charles  Bensell,  Thomas  Livezey,  the 
Rev.  George  Alsentz,  Thomas  Rose,  Jacob  Keyser 
and  David  Deshler. 

36 


Opening   the   School 

As  the  building  began  to  assume  shape,  some  of 
the  contributors  wrote  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  ob- 
jecting to  the  plan.  It  was  pointed  out  that  the  first 
story  had  a  ceiling  too  high  and  it  was  urged,  on  this 
account  "it  was  not  so  warm  for  the  scholars."  The 
question  was  debated  at  several  meetings,  but  all  the 
while  the  masons  continued  at  work,  and  finally  the 
Board,  having  sat  in  judgment  on  the  complaints, 
agreed  that  "as  the  dimensions  of  the  said  stories  in 
the  said  schoolroom  have  been  already  settled,  the 
same  is  to  continue  and  be  as  heretofore  settled." 

The  Trustees  pushed  the  work,  for  on  April  4th 
they  had  agreed  that  the  Managers  should  proceed  at 
once  to  put  the  three  buildings  under  roof,  "  there 
being  a  sufficiency  of  money  subscribed  to  go  safely  on 
so  far."  Little  additions  were  made  to  the  Treasury 
from  time  to  time  by  the  fines  collected  from  delinquent 
members  of  the  Board.  Being  absent  from  a  meeting 
without  a  sufficient  excuse  subjected  the  Trustee  to  a 
fine  of  one  shilling,  and  coming  late  to  a  meeting  re- 
sulted in  the  tardy  one  paying  two  pence.  Dr.  Bensell, 
in  this  way,  contributed  a  shilling,  and  Christopher 
Sauer,  as  aforesaid,  and  the  Rev.  George  Alsentz  and 
Benjamin  Engle  each  two  pence. 

In  three  months'  time,  the  work  had  progressed  so 
well  that  the  stone  walls  were  ready  to  receive  the 
"  upper  girders  and  Joyce  "  and  "  the  rafters  and 
bellfry."  Today  the  workmen  affix  a  flag  to  the  first 
iron  beam  that  is  put  in  place  on  the  top,  marking  the 
attainment  of  the  final  height  of  the  building.  In  the 
eighteenth  century  they  observed  a  different  and 
rather  more  convivial  custom.     Those  in  charge  set 

37 


A  History    of  The  Germantown  Academy 

out  the  "  cakes  and  ale  "  for  the  workmen  when  this 
point  in  the  construction  of  a  pubHc  building  was 
reached.  It  may  be  recalled  that  there  was  such  an 
entertainment  when  the  old  State  House  in  Philadelphia, 
now  called  Independence  Hall,  was  near  completion, 
and  the  founders  of  the  Germantown  Union  School 
were  adherents  to  the  same  old  custom.  Consequently 
there  is  a  minute,  dated  July  21,  1760,  stating  that  it 
was  agreed  to  give  an  entertainment  to  the  men 
engaged  in  building  the  Schoolhouse.  We  read  on 
the  minutes  that  the  Board  agreed  "  that  each  Trustee 
and  the  Treasurer  do  contribute  ten  shillings  "  to  this 
purpose.  The  entertainment,  which  was  to  be  given 
"  on  the  day  of  putting  on  "  these  girders  and  joists 
and  rafters  of  the  belfry,  is  believed  to  have  actually 
been  held  on  August  21,  1760.  So  that  from  the 
time  when  Melchior  Meng  was  digging,  or  having 
dug,  the  cellars  for  which  he  received  payment  on 
May  7th,  until  the  time  when  the  roof  was  in  process  of 
construction  from  the  girders  bored  by  Joseph  Cole- 
man, four  months  and  a  few  days  had  elapsed,  and,  all 
things  taken  into  consideration,  we  are  forced  to 
admit  they  builded  quickly  even  as  they  builded  well. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1760,  the  first  year  of  effort, 
the  Treasurer's  report  showed  an  apparent  deficit. 
Orders  were  drawn  upon  this  officer  for  £^0  3s.  6d., 
and  to  meet  them  he  had  only  ^16  8s.  3d.  This  state 
of  affairs  was  not  discouraging  because  there  were 
subscriptions  to  the  amount  of  £110  12s.  6d.  that  had 
not  yet  been  collected.  It  is  curious  to  note  here  that 
among  the  Agreements  and  Concessions  adopted  sub- 
sequently to  the  Fundamental  Agreements,  was  an  Arti- 

38 


opening    the    School 

cle,  No.  13,  declaring  that  the  Treasurer  "shall  keep 
the  Ancient  Charter  granted  by  William  Penn,  together 
with  the  deed  of  the  PUBLIC  GROUND  at  the 
Market  House,  and  also  all  the  public  papers  belong- 
ing to  said  town."  This  Article  indicates  that  the 
Schoolhouse  was  expected  to  be,  as  they  very  often 
were  in  early  days,  the  chief  building,  a  kind  of  Town 
Hall,  Apart  from  it,  and  the  churches,  the  town  could 
boast  of  no  really  public  building,  and  this  fact  seems 
to  explain  the  desire  to  make  the  practical  completion 
of  so  important  and  necessary  a  headquarters  an  event 
worthy  of  a  special  celebration.  A  note  to  the  original 
of  the  "Agreements  and  Concessions"  gives  the  infor- 
mation that  "  These  records  were  afterward  removed  by 
the  law  of  the  State  to  the  office  of  Records  in 
Philada." 

By  the  opening  of  the  New  Year,  1761,  the  building 
must  have  been  completed,  and  it  is  possible  that  the 
first  annual  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  held  on  January 
I  St,  of  that  year,  was  held  in  the  Schoolhouse.  There 
was  an  election  of  Trustees,  and  from  the  names  of 
the  new  body  we  find  that  nine  of  the  original  Board 
were  re-elected,  as  was  the  Treasurer,  Richard  Johnson. 
The  new  members  were  Charles  Hay,  William  Dewees, 
Esq.,  Thomas  York  and  Thomas  Wharton,  they  hav- 
ing been  substituted  for  Mackinett,  Keyser,  Bowman 
and  Livezey. 

William  Dewees  was  a  son  of  that  William  Dewees 
who  was  one  of  the  first  settlers,  and  who  built  for  the 
town  its  first  pound,  and  subsequently  became  known 
as  the  Elder  of  White  Marsh.  The  younger  Dewees, 
who  is  here  mentioned  as  Trustee,  went  to  Pastorius' 

39 


A  History    of  The  Germantown  Academy 

school,  and  we  find  his  name  among  the  contributors 
to  the  first  fire  company. 

Thomas  Wharton  was  cousin  to  that  Thomas 
Wharton  whose  father,  Joseph  Wharton,  owned  Walnut 
Grove  in  Southwark,  where  the  famous  pageant  and 
entertainment  known  as  the  Meschianza  was  held.  He 
was  a  prominent  merchant  in  Philadelphia,  a  friend  of 
Galloway  and  of  Goddard,  the  printer,  and  was  part- 
ner with  them  in  the  establishment  of  the  latter's  news- 
paper, the  Chronicle.  In  the  trying  times  yet  to  come, 
Wharton  was  found  on  the  King's  side,  and,  having 
been  arrested  as  a  Tory  by  order  of  Congress,  was 
sent  into  exile  in  Virginia,  and  his  estates  confiscated. 

Of  Thomas  York  and  Charles  Hay,  even  less  seems 
to  be  known.  The  former  was  a  member  of  the  Fish- 
ing Company  of  Fort  St.  Davids,  and  the  latter  of 
the  family  of  Peter  Hay  who,  in  1766,  is  mentioned  as 
owning  part  of  lot  No.  4  of  the  Side-Lots  Towards 
Bristol,  on  Fisher's  Lane,  and  part  of  Cresheim  Lot  3  at 
the  upper  end  of  the  town,  on  what  now  is  Allen's  Lane. 

Early  in  the  year,  in  fact,  at  the  next  meeting,  Jan- 
uary 8,  1 761,  which  was  held  in  the  house  of  John  Jones, 
the  Trustees  had  selected  one  of  the  masters  for  the 
school.  This  was  Hilarius  Becker,  "who  has  for  some 
time  past  kept  a  German  School  in  Germantown  to 
general  satisfaction."  The  minute  from  which  this 
quotation  is  made  continues  to  relate  that  Becker, 
"being  proposed  to  be  the  German  Schoolmaster  at 
the  Union  School  House,  he  being  willing  to  undertake 
the  same,  and  being  a  capable  person  for  said  under- 
taking, and  well  approved  of  by  his  employers,  and 
the  Trustees  present,  it  is  agreed  that  he  be  the  Ger- 

40 


HiLARius  Becker 

First  German  Teacher,   Appointed  January  8,  1761 

Born   1705,   in   Bernheim,  Germany 

Died  1783,  in  Philadelphia 


Opening    the    School 

man  Schoolmaster  at  the  Schoolhouse,  and  that  he  be 
admitted  to  reside  in  one  of  the  dwelling  houses,  and 
to  move  thereto  on  the  first  of  April  next,  or  as  soon 
as  the  same  be  ready  for  him  to  move  thereto." 

There  is  comparatively  little  to  be  learned  of 
Becker.  He  seems  to  have  been  one  of  those  careful, 
quiet,  conscientious  teachers  who  give  the  best  there  is 
in  them  to  their  young  charges  and  then,  silently 
admiring  their  result,  modestly  efface  themselves. 
But  if  Hilarius  Becker  is  unknown  to  fame,  he  left 
descendants  who  served  the  City  of  Philadelphia  at 
different  times  for  some  years,  and  one  of  his  sons 
also  became  a  teacher  in  the  Union  School  House. 
Becker  is  said,  by  Mr.  Julius  F.  Sachse,  to  have  been 
born  in  Bernheim,  near  Frankfurt,  Germany,  in  the  year 
1705,  and  to  have  died  June  23,  1783.  He  remained 
as  German  Master  in  the  School  until  he  finally 
retired  from  active  life  in  1778.  His  son,  George 
Adam  Baker,  who  anglicised  the  spelling  of  his  name, 
was  born  in  Germantown  in  the  year  1763,  and  early  in 
life  was  in  the  mercantile  business  on  Arch  Street  near 
what  then  was  the  ferry.  He  dealt  in  wine,  spices, 
salt,  tea,  shoes,  crockery — a  general  merchandizing 
business,  in  short,  but  later  became  a  conveyancer.  He 
served  the  City  of  Philadelphia  in  Common  Council 
during  the  years  1801  and  1802;  was  City  Treasurer 
three  times,  1802-3,  1807-9  and  1811-13.  He  was 
very  active  in  Masonic  circles  and  served  for  many 
years  as  R.  W.  Grand  Secretary  of  Lodge  No.  2,  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  Another  son  of 
Hilarius  Becker,  Hilary  Baker,  was  Mayor  of  Phila- 
delphia from  1796  to  1798. 

41 


A  History    of  The  Germantown  Academy 

It  might  be  mentioned  that  on  the  only  other 
minute  adopted  at  the  meeting  of  Trustees,  when  they 
agreed  so  unanimously  upon  the  selection  of  a  German 
teacher  for  the  School,  was  one  increasing  the  fines 
upon  the  tardy  or  non-attending  members  of  the 
Board.  Evidently  there  had  been  a  noticeable  increase 
in  tardiness,  for  the  fine  for  being  late  was  jumped  from 
the  original  "  tuppence  "  to  eighteen  pence  imposed  on 
each  of  the  Trustees  who  are  delinquent  to  meet 
precisely  at  the  hour  appointed  for  meeting,  unless 
such  reasons  be  given  for  such  omission  as  may  be 
satisfactory. 

Even  if  there  was  not  internal  evidence  in  the 
minutes  to  support  the  theory,  it  seems  to  be  self 
evident  that  Becker  was  intimately  known  to  every 
member  of  the  Board.  No  rate  was  then  fixed  for 
tuition  in  his  school ;  his  salary  even  was  not  mentioned, 
but  a  mutual  understanding  upon  both  most  probably 
was  reached  between  the  master  and  the  Trustees. 
He  probably  was  willing  and  anxious  to  attach  him- 
self to  such  a  promising  school,  which  not  only  was  to 
be  the  largest  in  Germantown,  but  very  nearly  equal  to 
the  already  well-advertised  College  and  Academy  in 
Philadelphia,  the  foremost  educational  institution  in 
the  Province.  But  with  the  English  Master  greater 
care  was  shown,  not  only  in  his  selection,  but  in 
arranging  all  the  details  of  his  duties  and  prerogatives. 
There  was  no  haste  in  starting  either  upon  his  career, 
but  the  German  Master  was  the  first  to  be  installed. 

There  was  at  that  time  in  Philadelphia,  an  instructor 
who  made  a  reputation  in  his  profession  during  the 
eleven  years  he  had  been  in  the  city.     He  had  been  a 

42 


opening   the    School 

successful   master   in   the    College   and    Academy   of 
Philadelphia;    he   had    taken    the    first    step    in   the 
Province,  perhaps  in  this  part  of  the  world,  towards 
supplying,  what  we  now  call,  the  higher  education  for 
women.       In   the    middle    years    of    the    eighteenth 
century  his  instruction  evinced  a  commendable  spirit 
of  advance  and  introduced  its  author  as  an  innovator. 
This   remarkable   man,  at   the  time  he  was   called   to 
Germantown,  was  conducting  a  school  for  boys  up  a 
narrow  thoroughfare,  then  named  Viddall's  Alley.    He 
was  a  restless  spirit ;  a  political  pamphleteer  ;  a  talented 
artist ;  a  satirical  versifier ;  and  from  the  standpomt  of 
the  founders  of  the  Germantown  Union  School,  on  the 
right  side  in  poUtics.     Joseph  Galloway  knew  him ;  so 
did  Thomas  Wharton,  but  so  did  everybody  in  public 
life  in  Philadelphia,  for  he  was   a   character,  and   his 
name  was  David  James  Dove. 

About  a  month  after  the  German  master  had  been 
selected,  or,  at  the  meeting  held  on  February  5,  1761, 
in  the  house  of  Jacob  Coleman,  the  King  of  Prussia 
Tavern,  "it  was  unanimously  agreed  that  David  James 
Dove  be  the  master  who  is  to  enter  into  the  service  as 
soon  as  the  schoolhouse  be  ready  and  to  continue  for 
one  year,  and  his  salary  to  be  one  Hundred  pounds." 
At  the  same  meeting  it  was  decided  that  "each  scholar 
admitted  to  the  EngHsh  School  shall  pay  the  sum  of 
forty  shillings  per  annum."  It  was  also  agreed  "  that 
the  Dutch  School  be  kept  in  the  East  End  of  the 
building  and  the  English  School  in  the  West  End." 

But  the  schoolhouse  was  not  ready  in  March,  and 
in  April  it  is  noted  on  the  books  that  there  was  un- 
certainty   when    it    would    be    finished.      Dove    was 

43 


A  History    of  The  Germantoivn  Academy 

waiting  anxiously  for  his  new  post,  and  probably  made 
some  inquiries  as  to  when  his  year  was  to  begin,  for  at 
this  meeting,  dated  April  3,  1761,  it  was  "determined 
that  the  pay  of  David  James  Dove,  as  English  school- 
master, shall  begin  the  middle  of  June  next,  unless  the 
schoolhouse  be  sooner  ready." 

This  delay  in  completing  the  school  and  other 
buildings  was  due  to  the  carpenter  who  had  the  con- 
tract. At  the  meeting  on  February  16,  1761,  "it  was 
represented  to  the  Trustees  that  a  number  of  children 
will  be  sent  this  year  to  the  English  School  to  learn  to 
spell  and  read  only,  and  that  it  will  contrive  to  settle 
some  uneasiness  which  has  arisen  among  contributors 
respecting  the  Price  to  be  paid  for  such  children  to 
lessen  the  same.  It  is  therefore  unanimously  agreed 
that  no  more  than  thirty  shillings  be  paid  for  such 
children  as  shall  be  taught  by  the  master  to  spell  and 
read  only;  and  that  when  they  be  put  to  writing  and 
arithmetick  or  either  of  them,  that  then,  and  not  before, 
there  shall  be  paid  for  such  child  forty  shillings." 

While  awaiting  the  completion  of  the  building,  the 
Trustees  thought  the  time  had  arrived  to  advertise  the 
merits  of  the  new  institution,  at  least  so  far  as  its 
physical  and  moral  environment  were  concerned,  and 
in  the  "  Pennsylvania  Gazette  "  for  March  5, 1761,  some 
months  before  the  carpenter  had  finished  his  work — 
expected  to  be  completed  in  April — they  inserted  an 
advertisement,  descriptive  of  the  establishment.  From 
it,  it  is  learned : 

"The  School  House  consists  of  80  feet  in  Front, 
and  40  Feet  in  Depth,  two  Stories  in  Height,  with  six 
commodious  Rooms  for  the  Use  of  the  several  Schools. 

44 


opening    the    School 

To  which  are  added  as  Wings,  two  convenient  Dwell- 
ing-houses, with  a  lot  of  Ground  to  each,  for  the  Resi- 
dence of  the  Masters  and  their  Boarders. 

"The  Advantages  of  the  School,  with  respect  to 
Situation,  must,  if  duly  considered,  contribute  not  a 
little  to  its  Promotion  and  Encouragement.  The 
House  is  built  on  a  fine,  airy  Hill,  a  little  removed  from 
the  Public  or  Main  Street.  The  Air  is  known,  from 
long  Experience,  to  be  pure  and  healthy ;  often  recom- 
mended by  the  best  Physicians,  to  Invalids;  and  indeed 
the  Place,  without  Exaggeration,  may  be  justly  termed 
the  Montpelier  of  Pennsylvania.  The  Opportunities 
and  Examples  of  Vice  and  Immorality,  which  ever  pre- 
vail in  large  Cities,  here  will  seldom  present  themselves, 
to  decoy  the  youthful  Mind  from  its  natural  Inclina- 
tion of  Virtue.  Its  Retirement  for  want  of  Objects  to 
divert  the  Attention  will  fix  the  Mind  to  Application 
and  Study.  Its  small  Distance  from  the  City  of  Phil- 
adelphia will  enable  the  Citizen,  in  some  Measure,  to 
superintend  both  the  Health  and  Education  of  his 
Child." 

This  seems  to  have  had  the  desired  effect,  for 
when  the  school  opened  there  were  enrolled  as  pupils 
in  "  This  Montpelier  of  Pennsylvania,"  131  children, 
of  whom  70  were  in  the  German  department. 

By  April  3d  of  the  same  year,  1761,  the  school 
remained  unfinished,  and  a  committee  consisting  of 
Thomas  Rose,  Jacob  Naglee,  Christopher  Sauer  and 
Charles  Bensell  was  appointed  to  request  the  managers 
that  "  they  cause  the  schoolhouse  to  be  perfected  as 
soon  as  possible  and  to  observe  to  the  managers  that 
it  will  become  them  to  enforce  the  articles  entered  into 

45 


A  History    of  The  Germantown  Academy 

with  the  carpenter,  provided  he  don't  comply  with 
this  agreement." 

While  Dove's  term  of  office  was  arranged  to  begin 
in  the  middle  of  June,  he  seems  to  have  had  little 
more  than  preparatory  work  to  occupy  his  time  during 
that  summer,  for  the  school  did  not  open  until  August 
lo,  1761.  What,  if  any,  ceremonies  attended  this  aus- 
picious occasion  is  unknown  ;  even  the  date  for  the 
opening  is  fixed  by  circumstantial  evidence.  In  the 
Trustees'  book,  under  date  of  August  4,  1761,  we 
learn  that  a  special  fund  of  ;^6o  having  been  sub- 
scribed, Thomas  Pratt  was  employed  as  Usher  in  the 
English  School,  and  he  was  to  enter  upon  his  duties 
on  "  Second-day  next,  when  said  School  is  intended  to 
be  opened."  Now,  a  little  investigation  will  show  that 
the  next  Second-day,  or  Monday,  fell  on  the  loth  of 
the  month,  although,  by  some  curious  accident,  all 
historical  sketches  of  the  Academy  give  the  opening 
date  as  August  nth.  The  only  guide  to  the  date  has 
been  given,  but  it  is  known  to  a  certainty  that  on 
September  4,  1761,  the  school  was  open,  for  the  min- 
utes refer  to  the  fact  in  these  words  :  "  As  the  school 
is  now  open,  it  appears  necessary  that  some  general 
rules  should  be  fixed  for  the  good  order  and  govern- 
ment of  the  same." 

David  James  Dove,  the  first  master  of  the  English 
school,  was  a  much  talked  of  man  in  and  about 
Philadelphia  in  the  nineteen  years  he  spent  here, 
though  these  are  those  in  which  a  man  passes  from 
middle  to  old  age.  From  a  letter  to  Dr.  Johnson, 
written  to  Boswell's  hero  by  Franklin  soon  after 
Dove's  arrival  in  Philadelphia,  we  obtain  the  first  in- 

46 


opening   the    School 

dication  of  his  probable  age  when  he  came  to  this 
country.  In  this  letter,  which  bears  the  date  of 
December  24,  1751,  Franklin  wrote:  "The  English 
master  of  the  Academy  and  College  of  Philadelphia  is 
Mr.  Dove,  a  gentleman  about  your  age,  who  formerly 
taught  grammar  sixteen  years  at  Chichester,  in 
England.  He  is  an  excellent  master,  and  his  scholars 
have  made  a  surprising  progress."  Now,  Dr.  Johnson 
was  born  in  the  year  1709,  and  at  the  time  FrankHn 
wrote,  Dove  must  have  been  about  forty-two  years  of 
age.  That  he  came  to  this  country  in  the  year  1750, 
we  have  the  minutes  of  the  Trustees  of  the  College 
and  Academy  of  Philadelphia  for  evidence.  On  the 
minutes  under  the  date  of  December  17,  1750,  we  find 
this  record : 

"  Mr.  David  James  Dove  having  lately  come  hither 
from  England  where  the  Trustees  are  informed  he  had 
the  care  of  a  School  for  many  years  and  having  offered 
himself  for  an  English  Master,  The  Trustees  being 
in  a  great  measure  strangers  to  him  do  order  that  he 
be  accepted  for  the  English  Master  in  the  Academy 
for  one  year,  to  commence  on  the  seventh  day  of 
January  next,  for  the  Sallary  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  in  order  to  make  Tryal  of  his  care  and  ability." 

Dove  took  hold  of  the  English  Mastership  at  the 
College  on  the  day  appointed,  and  in  the  meantime 
seems  to  have  had  for  boarder  at  his  house  one  of  the 
tutors  at  the  same  institution,  a  tutor  who  was  destined 
to  become  more  famous — Charles  Thomson.  In  spite 
of  his  peculiar  methods.  Dove  seems  to  have  been  held 
in  high  regard  by  the  Trustees,  and  to  have  been  an 
able  instructor.     He  built  up  the  school  at  a  surprising 

47 


A  History  of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

rate  and  soon  had  to  have  an  assistant  or  usher,  this 
Charles  Thomson  aforesaid.  Soon  after  this  time 
Thomson,  who  did  not  like  his  surroundings  at  the 
Doves,  left  their  fireside  for  another  home.  Appre- 
ciating the  reckless  manner  in  which  Dove  was  known 
to  have  referred  to  practically  everybody  with  whom  he 
came  into  contact,  and  how  he  repeated  spiteful  and 
sarcastic  things  of  them  when  they  were  not  present, 
Thomson,  for  a  while,  was  undecided  how  best  to  quit 
the  house.  In  order  to  frustrate  any  such  spiteful 
attempt  upon  himself  after  he  had  gone,  he  hit  upon  a 
most  original  method  of  forestalling  unfavorable  gos- 
sip, had  Dove  ever  intended  it.  Thomson  himself  has 
told  us  how  he  proceeded  on  this  occasion : 

"He  gravely  inquired  of  them  (Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Dove)  one  evening  if  his  conduct  as  a  boarder  had 
been  satisfactory  to  them.  They  promptly  replied  in 
the  affirmative. 

'"Would  you,  then,'  said  Thomson,  'be  willing  to 
give  me  a  certificate  to  that  effect?' 

'"Oh,  certainly!' 

"A  certificate  was  accordingly  given,  and  the  next 
day  he  departed  from  them  in  peace." 

Not  content  with  his  duties  at  the  College,  which 
daily  were  growing  more  draining  on  his  time  and 
attention  on  account  of  the  increase  in  the  numbers  of 
his  pupils — to  which  increase  there  seems  to  be  no 
doubt  his  reputation  as  a  teacher  was  largely  responsi- 
ble— in  August,  Dove  announced  the  opening  of  a 
school  for  young  ladies  at  the  College.  That  this 
was  done  with  the  consent  of  the  Trustees  seems  evi- 
dent, although  the  minutes  on  this  point  are  silent. 

48 


opening    the    School 

In  the  "Pennsylvania  Gazette"  for  August  29,  1751, 
Dove  advertised : 

"As  the  Scheme  formed  by  the  Gentlemen  of  Phil- 
adelphia, for  the  regular  Education  of  their  Sons,  has 
been  happily  carried  into  Execution;  the  Ladies  excited 
by  the  laudable  example,  are  solicitous  that  their 
Daughters  too  might  be  instructed  in  some  Parts  of 
Learning,  as  they  are  taught  at  the  Academy.  Mr. 
Dove  proposes  to  open  a  school  at  said  Academy  for 
young  Ladies,  on  Monday  next,  in  which  will  be  care- 
fully taught  the  English  Grammar;  the  true  Way  of 
Spelling,  and  Pronouncing  properly;  together  with 
fair  Writing,  Arithmetick,  and  Accounts  ;  So  that  the 
Plan  recommended  by  the  Universal  Spectator  may  be 
exactly  pursued.  Price  Ten  Shillings  Entrance  and 
Twenty  Shillings  per  Quarter." 

What  may  have  been  the  Trustees'  estimate  of  the 
value  of  Mr.  Dove  may  be  imagined  from  the  fact  that 
he  was  paid  the  highest  salary  of  any  of  the  instruct- 
ors, excepting  only  William  Smith,  who  subsequently 
became  the  Provost.  In  December  of  the  same  year 
there  were  ninety  pupils  in  the  English  Department, 
and  Dove  was  given  another  assistant,  the  first  usher 
allotted  him  having  been  put  at  his  service  in  the  pre- 
vious July.  His  new  assistant,  Mr.  Peisley,  for  whose 
ability  Dove  vouched,  did  not  long  remain  with  him, 
and  the  master  selected  two  of  his  promising  boys 
from  his  class  for  the  duties,  and  each  was  awarded 
twenty  dollars  by  the  Trustees  as  compensation  for 
their  services. 

It  was  during  this  period  that  Dove  had  as  a  pupil 
Richard  Peters,  Jr.,  nephew  of  Richard  Peters,  one  of 

49 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

the  Trustees,  later  the  owner  of  Belmont,  and  a  Judge 
in  the  United  States  District  Court.  From  him  we 
learn  that  Dove  was  a  "  sarcastic  and  ill-tempered  dog- 
gerelizer,  who  was  but  ironically  Dove\  for  his  temper 
was  that  of  a  hawk,  and  his  pen  the  beak  of  a  falcon 
pouncing  on  innocent  prey." 

It  soon  became  apparent  to  the  Trustees  that  the 
real  reason  why  Dove  wanted  two  ushers  and  an  assist- 
ant was  that  he  might  be  able  to  devote  more  atten- 
tion to  teaching  the  young  ladies  "the  true  way  of 
spelling,  and  pronouncing  properly,  together  with  fair 
writing,  arithmetick  and  accounts."  In  the  minute  of 
the  Board  dated  November  15,  1752,  we  find:  "The 
Trustees  being  informed  that  Mr.  Dove  makes  a  prac- 
tice of  leaving  his  School  at  Eleven  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  at  four  in  the  afternoon ;  and  such  fre- 
quent absences  of  the  Master  being  thought  a  Disad- 
vantage to  the  School,  Mr.  Franklin  and  Mr.  Peters 
are  desired  to  speak  to  him  about  it,  and  request  his 
Attendance  during  the  School  Hours." 

That  the  committee  failed  is  shown  by  the  minutes 
of  the  next  meeting  of  the  Trustees.  There  it  is 
written  that  these  gentlemen  reported  that  "  Mr. 
Dove  acknowledged  what  had  been  reported  of  him 
concerning  his  leaving  the  School,  and  that  he  seemed 
desirous  of  being  indulged  in  that  practice,  but  the 
Trustees  considered  it  as  a  bad  example  and  too  great 
a  Neglect  of  the  children  under  his  care,  and  desired 
him  to  be  informed  they  would  expect  he  will  attend 
the  School  at  the  appointed  Hours." 

Dove  did  not  give  up  without  a  fight  with  the 
Trustees.      He    insisted    in    conducting    his   private 

50 


Opening   the   School 

school,  and  in  neglecting,  at  certain  hours  each  day,  his 
classes  in  the  Academy,  He  made  a  proposition  to 
the  Academy  to  continue  in  his  position,  but  the 
Trustees  denied  his  request  for  other  hours  on 
February  13,  1753,  and,  in  the  minutes  of  the  meeting 
on  that  occasion,  the  challenge  is  thrown  down  to  the 
Master,  the  Trustees  refusing  to  recede  from  their  posi- 
tion, and  noting,  "  as  he  had  said,  in  Case  his  present 
Request  was  not  granted,  he  would  continue  to  take 
care  of  the  School  for  a  Quarter,  or  till  they  could  pro- 
vide another  Master,  so  they,  on  their  part,  would  give 
him  a  Quarter's  notice  when  they  had  been  provided." 
In  July  of  the  year  1753,  Dove  gave  over  the 
Mastership  to  Mr.  Kinnersley,  who,  also,  was  destined 
to  become  better  known  than  this  truly  remarkable 
man.  Until  the  Germantown  Union  School  enlisted  his 
services.  Dove  continued  to  conduct  a  school  in  Phila- 
delphia. For  a  part  of  this  time  we  have  little  informa- 
tion of  his  movements,  although  it  is  safe  to  assume 
that  a  man  of  his  character  never  was  idle.  How  long 
he  maintained  a  school  for  young  ladies  is  not  known, 
but  in  1758  or  1759  he  was  keeping  a  school  for  both 
boys  and  girls  in  Videll's  Alley,  a  small  thoroughfare 
which  runs  west  from  Second  Street,  below  Chestnut, 
and  now  bears  the  name  Ionic  Street,  being  also  known 
to  a  recent  generation  as  Carter's  Alley.  It  was  while 
located  here  that  Graydon,  whose  Memoirs  give  some 
of  the  liveliest  pictures  we  have  of  the  eighteenth 
century  in  Philadelphia,  was  one  of  his  pupils.  It 
probably  was  in  1760  that  Graydon  went  to  Dove,  for 
he  says  he  was  about  eight  years  old  at  the  time,  and 
he  was  born  in  1752. 

51 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  Academy 

"  It  was  his  practice  in  his  school,"  relates  the 
writer  of  "  Memoirs  of  a  Life,"  etc.,  "  to  substitute 
disgrace  for  corporal  punishment.  His  birch  was 
rarely  used  in  canonical  method,  but  was  generally 
stuck  into  the  back  part  of  the  collar  of  the  un- 
fortunate culprit,  who,  with  this  badge  of  disgrace 
towering  above  his  nape  like  a  broom  at  the  mast- 
head of  a  vessel  for  sale,  was  compelled  to  take  his 
stand  upon  the  top  of  the  form  for  such  a  period  of 
time  as  his  offence  was  thought  to  deserve.  He  had 
another  contrivance  for  boys  who  were  late  in  their 
morning  attendance.  This  was  to  dispatch  a  committee 
of  five  or  six  scholars  for  them,  with  a  bell  and  lighted 
lantern,  and  with  this  '  odd  equipage,'  in  broad  day- 
light, the  bell  all  the  while  tingling,  were  they  escorted 
through  the  streets  to  school.  As  Dove  affected  a 
strict  regard  to  justice  in  his  dispensations  of  punish- 
ment, and  always  preferred  a  willingness  to  have  an 
equal  measure  of  it  meted  out  to  himself  in  case  of  his 
transgressing,  the  boys  took  him  at  his  word ;  and  one 
morning  when  he  had  overstayed  his  time,  either 
through  laziness,  inattention,  or  design,  he  found  him- 
self waited  on  in  the  usual  form.  He  immediately 
admitted  the  justice  of  the  procedure,  and  putting 
himself  behind  the  lantern  and  bell,  marched  with 
great  solemnity  to  school,  to  the  no  small  gratification 
of  the  boys  and  the  entertainment  of  the  spectators. 
But  this  incident  took  place  before  I  became  a  scholar. 
It  was  once  my  lot  to  be  attended  in  this  manner,  but 
what  had  been  sport  to  my  tutor  was  to  me  a  serious 
punishment. 

"  The  school  at  this  time  was  kept  in  Videll's  Alley, 

52 


opening    the    School 

which  opened  into  Second  Street,  a  little  below 
Chestnut  Street.  It  counted  a  number  of  scholars  of 
both  sexes,  though  chiefly  boys  ;  and  the  assistant,  or 
writing  master,  was  John  Reily,  a  very  expert  penman 
and  conveyancer,  a  man  of  some  note,  who,  in  his 
gayer  moods,  affected  a  pompous  and  technical 
phraseology.  He  is  characterized  under  the  name  of 
'  Parchment '  in  a  farce  written  some  forty  years  ago, 
and  which,  having  at  least  the  merit  of  novelty  and 
personality,  was  a  very  popular  drama,  though  never 
brought  to  the  stage." 

It  may  be  said,  in  passing,  that  this  character 
appears  in  the  very  diverting,  but  very  broad  "  comic 
opera,"  called  "  The  Disappointment,"  written  by 
Thomas  Forrest,  who  was  one  of  Dove's  pupils  and, 
in  time,  as  shall  be  related  in  its  place.  President  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Germantown  Academy. 

After  Dove  left  the  Germantown  Union  School  in 
the  summer  of  1763,  he  opened  his  own  Academy  in 
a  building  directly  west  of  the  Academy  on  School- 
house  Lane.  This  house  in  later  times  has  been  known 
as  the  Chancellor  House,  from  the  circumstance  that 
early  in  the  last  century  William  Chancellor,  a  son  of 
Dr.  William  Chancellor,  and  of  Salome  Chancellor,  a 
daughter  of  John  Wister  the  elder,  purchased  the 
property  and  to  some  extent  modernized  it. 

Dove  remained  here  until  1768,  when  we  find  him 
back  in  Philadelphia  again,  maintaining  a  school  on 
Front  Street,  near  Arch.  In  April  of  the  following 
year,  this  eccentric  man  died,  and  the  records  of  Christ 
Church  show  that  he  was  buried  in  Christ  Church 
burying  ground,  April  4,  1769.     It  is  not  improbable 

53 


A  History  of  The  G ermantow n  Academy 

that  he  was  an  elder  brother  to  that  Nathaniel  Dove 
(1710-1754)  who  was  master  of  a  school  at  Hoxton, 
near  London,  and  gained  some  celebrity  as  a  callig- 
rapher,  and  author  of  "The  Progress  of  Time." 

After  his  retirement  from  the  Germantown  Union 
School,  Dove  showed  his  dislike  to  Quakers  in  an 
anonymous  pamphlet,  entitled  "The  Quaker  Un- 
mask'd,"  which  was  published  early  in  the  year  1764, 
and  relates  to  the  Paxton  Boys.  The  pamphlet  for 
many  years  was  attributed  to  Franklin,  but  the  dis- 
covery of  a  copy  in  the  Moravian  Archives,  which,  in 
an  inscription  in  a  contemporary  hand  names  Dove  as 
the  author,  has  caused  it  now  to  be  assigned  to  the 
latter.  Its  full  title  is  "The  Quaker  Unmask'd;  or 
Plain  Truth;  humbly  addressed  to  the  Consideration  of 
all  Freemen  of  Pennsylvania,  Printed  in  the  Year  of  our 
Lord,  1764."  It  pictures  the  Quaker  as  a  very  shifty 
person,  and  says  the  Frontier  inhabitants  have  been  both 
loyal  and  peaceable  members  of  society  and  that  the 
Quakers  were  glad  to  have  these  "Back  Inhabitants" 
removed  as  "lessening  a  growing  party  against  them." 
Although  the  preface  is  dated  "  Second  Street,  February 
18,  1764,"  that  was  not  merely  a  subterfuge  on  the 
part  of  the  author,  but  indicated  the  address  of  the 
printer.  A,  Stewart. 

Dove  was  keeping  school  at  Germantown  at  the 
time,  and,  as  the  Paxton  Boys  halted  within  a  few 
hundred  feet  of  the  school,  it  seems  to  be  certain  that 
he  interviewed  some  determined  backwoodsmen,  and 
may  have  been  present  on  that  eventful  Sunday  morn- 
ing when  Franklin,  Galloway,  Benjamin  Chew  and 
Thomas  Willing   met   them   and   persuaded   them   to 

54 


opening    the    School 

return  to  their  homes  instead  of  marching  on  Phila- 
delphia to  massacre  the  Indians  that  had  taken  refuge 
there. 

Between  1757  and  1765,  Dove  was  responsible  for 
a  great  deal  of  the  pamphleteering  and  caricaturing  in 
Philadelphia.  He  was  doubly  responsible,  for  he  was 
answered  and  lampooned  in  turn,  one  of  his  chief 
adversaries  in  this  campaign  being  Isaac  Hunt,  a 
young  lawyer's  apprentice,  just  fresh  from  the  College 
and  Academy  of  Philadelphia,  from  which  institution 
he  was  dismissed.  He  will  be  recalled  as  the  father  of 
Leigh  Hunt.  In  1 757  there  was  done  by  Dove  a  carica- 
ture entitled  "  Labor  in  Vain;  or,  An  Attempt  to  Wash 
a  Black-Moor  white,"  which  was  a  bitter  attack  upon 
Judge  William  Moore,  then  under  arrest  by  the 
Assembly.  Neither  this  caricature,  which  is  not  en- 
graved but  etched,  nor  another  equally  rare  but 
known  caricature  by  Dove,  entitled  "The  Counter- 
medley"  can  well  be  reproduced  in  this  age  owing  to 
the  nature  of  its  humor.  The  latter  print  occupies 
the  upper  part  of  a  broadside  sheet  given  over  to  a 
Hudibrastic  attack  on  the  Quakers  and  the  anti- 
Proprietary  Party,  and  especially  upon  the  author  of 
"  The  Medley,"  which,  by  some  curious  perversion  has 
been  assigned  to  Dove,  although  it  accuses  him  of 
immoral  practices. 

"The  Medley,"  which  probably  was,  so  far  as  its 
verses  are  concerned,  the  work  of  Hunt,  is  embel- 
lished by  an  etching  evidently  by  Henry  Dawkins.  As 
a  picture  of  Dove  is  presented  by  the  verses,  some  of 
the  lines  are  given  here,  from  the  copy  in  the  collection 
of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania.     One  or  two 

55 


A  Miracle  ?   A  Miracle  !  without  Difpntey 
A  tame  DOFE*  lueumorphos^d  into  a  Brute ! 


7eath  me  tofcdU  prodigous-mndeJ  DOVEi 
Mountain  cfTrea/on^  ugly  as  tie  DeviH 
Let  that  eoftfounded  hateful  Mouth  of  thine 
Learn  me  to  rail  malicious  as  thyfelf-^' 
Weirds  thai  mgbt  Jbame  all  BiUingfgate  tofpeah  ! 

Fielding  s  Tom  Thumb 


56 


opening   the   School 

lines,  owing  to  the  manner  in  which  the  broadside  had 
been  folded,  are  indecipherable: 

"  See  Lilliput  with  Beehive  wig, 

(An  old  abandoned  sinner) 
Would     ...     or  sow  with  pig, 

To  gain  thereby  a  dinner 
From  Germantown,  rode  like  Quixote, 

Or  Sancho  on  his  dapple 
Methinks,  'tis  pity  He's  forgot 

The  Horespond  and  that  apple. 

"  They're  lies  says  he,  they  are  dam'd  lies 

They're  charges  most  unjust,  sir, 
I  conscientiously  despise. 

All  letchery  and  Lust,  sir." 


Old  Gravity  in  wig  comes  there, 

Possess'd  of  pupils  ticket. 
Instead  of  one,  receives  a  pair  ; 

(You  know  boys  will  be  wicked) 
"  It's  best  he  cries  to  be  secure. 

For  fear  that  one  wont  do  sir. 
For  if  they  should  reject  the  poor, 

The  rich  may  put  in  two  sir." 

Some  that  pretend  to  know  him  best. 

Swear  he  was  only  funning. 
It  may  be  so — by,  gad,  he  might ; 

And  did  not  show  his  cunning. 
At  such  a  time  (you  know  'tis  said) 

We  ever  are  distrustful!, 
Of  Priests,  of  Levites,  good  and  bad ; 

The  Rich,  the  Great,  the  Lustfull. 

In  nearly  all  of  the  lampoons  against  him.  Dove  is 
accused  of  being  a  most  immoral  person,  and  this 
character  seems  to  have  been  derived  from  the 
"  Adventures  of  the  Life  of  the  Chevalier  John 
Taylor,"  a  notorious  old  Empiric  and  quack,  whose 
three  volumes  called  his  "  Adventures  "  were  published 

57 


A  History  of  The  German  town  Academy 

in  the  years  1761-1762.  It  is  the  most  monstrous  book 
of  its  kind  ever  issued  as  a  volume  of  genuine  adven- 
tures, and  its  exaggeration  of  the  truth  is  only  a  little 
less  careless  than  is  to  be  found  in  the  adventures  of 
the  mythical  Baron  Munchausen.  A  careful  perusal  of 
the  three  volumes  failed  to  show  the  references  to 
Dove  frequently  alleged.  At  the  time  of  their  ap- 
pearance, some  keen  literary  detective  must  have 
discovered  parallels  in  some  of  the  passages  in  the 
volumes  to  legends  of  Dove's  life  abroad,  but,  at  this 
distance,  these  no  longer  are  distinguishable.  As  an 
artist  Dove  showed  considerable  skill,  but  none  of  his 
etchings,  which  are  as  free  as  any  of  Gilray  or  Row- 
landson,  give  evidence  of  training.  The  provocation 
for  the  caricatures  and  lampoons  of  1764  was  the 
election,  into  which  the  defenders  of  the  Paxton  Boys 
on  the  one  hand  and  the  Quaker  Party  on  the  other 
threw  themselves  with  all  the  bitterness  of  party  strife. 
Hunt  issued  the  following  year  a  pamphlet,  entitled 
"  An  Humble  attempt  at  Scurrility  in  imitation  of  those 
Great  Masters  of  the  Art,  The  Rev.  Dr.  S— th,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Al — n,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ew — n,  Esq.,"  showing 
that  "  the  irreverend  Dove,"  like  a  true  poHtician,  was 
back  with  the  Proprietary  Party  again,  having  shifted 
as  conditions  changed. 


58 


CHAPTER  III 

David  James   Dove  and   Pelatiah  Webster 
1761-1766 

THE  austere  manners  of  Dove,  the  English 
master  of  the  school,  soon  began  to  have 
their  effect.  The  school  was  opened  in  the 
August  of  1761,  and  in  October  of  that 
year  the  first  usher,  Thomas  Pratt,  who  had  been  em- 
ployed at  a  salary  of  ^70  a  year,  because  the  Board 
could  not  get  him  for  £^0^  appeared  before  the  Trus- 
tees and  said  it  did  not  suit  him  to  continue.  The 
next  assistant  to  the  English  master,  John  Points,  or 
Punch,  who  was  only  to  be  paid  ^11  a  year,  was  dis- 
missed May  18,  1762.  Joshua  Acton,  the  next  usher, 
who  was  noted  on  the  minutes  as  a  "stranger"  was 
put  on  a  quarter's  trial,  but  he  appears  to  have 
"absconded"  on  July  5th  of  that  year.  Evidently  the 
English  master  did  not  have  a  temperament  that  was 
agreeable  to  the  majority  of  those  who  came  under  its 
influence.  Jonathan  Dickens  was  chosen  as  the  suc- 
cessor of  the  absconded  usher,  but  he,  too,  after  a 
quarter's  experience  with  Dove,  resigned,  and  received 
^15  for  his  services.  Then  John  Woods  (perhaps 
the  Yale  graduate  of  that  name  in  the  class  of  1755) 
entered  upon  "  tryall  at  the  rate  of  sixty  pounds  per 
annum,"  but  in  December,  1762,  was  down  with 
smallpox. 

Dove's  discipline  also  caused  itself  to  be  felt  in 
other  quarters,  and  we  find  the  Trustees  recording  on 
their  minutes:     "The  Board  of  Trustees  taking  into 

59 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  Academy 

their  consideration  that  the  instruction  of  youth,  both 
in  the  rudiments  of  learning  and  that  in  good  manners, 
is  chiefly  aimed  at  by  this  Institution;  nevertheless,  it 
being  represented  to  this  Board,  that  some  of  the 
children  of  the  people,  called  Quakers,  are  in  the 
practice  of  accosting  the  masters  and  others  by  un- 
covering the  heads,  which  being  inconsistent  with  the 
practice  of  that  people  and  has  been  the  cause  of 
giving  some  uneasiness  to  the  parents  of  such  children; 
it  is  therefore  unanimously  agreed  upon  by  this  Board 
that  the  master  shall  give  express  orders  to  the 
children  of  persons  of  that  Society,  that  they  do  not 
accost  him  or  any  other  in  that  manner  or  mode  of 
uncovering  the  head  at  any  time;  and  that  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  master  (especially  to  such  children  as  are 
boarders  with  him)  to  know  that  they  regularly  attend 
the  places  of  worship  belonging  to  their  several 
parents,  at  least  on  the  first  days  of  the  week,  if  such 
places  of  worship  be  kept  in  this  town,  and  the  Clerk 
of  this  Board  is  requested  to  give  the  Master  a  copy 
of  this  minute." 

Dove  seems  to  have  been  an  excellent  schoolmaster, 
but  he  was  not  one  of  those  men  who  thrives  on  harmony. 
It  was  not  long  before  he  and  the  Trustees  found 
themselves  in  a  strained  situation.  At  the  December 
meeting  in  the  year  1761,  the  Trustees,  among  other 
actions,  placed  40s.  in  the  hands  of  its  clerk,  Thomas 
Rose,  to  give  to  Dove  for  distribution  "  among  the 
schoolboys  in  such  manner  as  he  may  think  proper  as 
a  gratuity  for  their  expertness  and  aptitude  in  their 
learning,  the  Trustees  present  having  an  opportunity 
of    hearing    several    of    them    to    satisfaction."     Two 

60 


David  James  Dove  and  Pelatiah  Webster 

members  of  the  Board  were  required  to  visit  the 
school  every  month  as  a  Visiting  Committee,  and  these 
seem  to  have  approved  of  Dove  at  this  time. 

On  January  15,  1762,  gratuities  of  los.  each  were 
voted  to  the  German  and  English  Masters  to  be  pre- 
sented to  their  respective  "  monitors."  On  April  6th 
of  the  same  year,  the  English  Master  was  directed  to 
procure  a  suitable  woman  to  teach  "  the  first  parts  of 
reading,"  but  he  seems  to  have  neglected  to  do  so. 

Early  in  the  year  1761,  the  Trustees,  emulating  the 
example  of  many  worthy  institutions  and  churches, 
"  made,"  according  to  the  annalist,  John  F.  Watson, 
"  a  lottery  to  draw  in  Philadelphia,  of  6667  tickets  at 
$3,  to  raise  I3000  at  15  per  cent,"  to  finish  the  school 
buildings.  Nothing  regarding  the  lottery,  however, 
appears  in  the  minutes  of  the  Board  until  April  4, 
1762,  when  that  body  took  "  into  consideration  the 
unsettled  state  of  the  lottery  set  on  foot  for  the  benefit 
of  the  school,  and  agreed  that  a  letter  be  sent  to  the 
Managers,  requesting  that  an  adjustment  might  be 
made  thereof."  A  committee  appointed  to  follow  up 
the  matter  was  headed  by  Joseph  Galloway,  and  it  found 
that  several  of  the  managers  of  the  lottery  had  balances 
in  their  hands  belonging  to  the  school.  Galloway 
collected  during  the  following  month  ^93  12s.  iid., 
but  the  treasurer,  presumably  from  conscientious 
scruples,  refused  to  receive  the  money  and  it  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  a  special  agent  to  appropriate 
it  to  the  payment  of  debts  due.  In  December,  Thomas 
Wharton  "  produced  an  account  in  which  is  included 
several  sums  of  money  received  from  the  following 
persons:    From  Thomas  Yorke  in  part   of   Lottery 

61 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  Academy 

money,  ^173  los.  ^d.  ;  From  James  Child  the  balance 
of  his  Lottery  a  ^97  is."  Out  of  the  monies  received 
^191  2s.  i}4d.  had  to  be  paid  to  William  Moor  for 
"  money  advanced  by  him  to  pay  off  some  of  the 
prizes  of  said  lottery."  The  experiences  of  the 
Trustees  with  this  lottery  were  so  disappointing  that 
they  never  again  attempted  to  raise  money  by  this 
means.  The  settlement  of  the  lottery  was  delayed  for 
several  years,  and  some  of  the  money  passed  to  the 
Trustees,  after  the  death  of  Thomas  York,  from  his 
estate. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  on  April 
4,  1762,  the  English  Master,  Dove,  was  directed  "to 
collect  the  subscriptions  made  and  the  monies  arising 
from  the  Schooling  of  persons  in  and  about  German- 
town  ;  and  for  the  scholars  who  come  from  Philadelphia 
and  elsewhere"  and  to  "  keep  clear  accounts  thereof." 

The  first  night  school  was  opened  October  14, 
1762,  under  the  care  of  the  Usher,  John  Woods,  for 
which  he  was  to  receive  the  compensation  of  los.  a 
quarter,  part  of  it  in  advance.  This  school  had 
sessions  from  six  to  nine  o'clock,  and  each  scholar  was 
to  find  his  own  candle,  and  to  pay  2s.  6d.  for  firewood. 
None  was  to  be  admitted  for  less  than  a  quarter. 

It  seems  evident  that  trouble  had  been  brewing  for 
some  time,  and  early  in  the  year  1763,  decided  dis- 
satisfaction presented  itself.  At  the  meeting  of  the 
Trustees  held  on  January  6th,  there  was  received  "  A 
Remonstrance  of  Representation,"  signed  by  twenty- 
one  contributors  and  presented  to  the  Board  by  Ubry 
Meng.  This  document  contained  a  series  of  com- 
plaints against  the  English  schools  : 

62 


David  James  Dove  and  Pe latiah  Webster 

"That  they  think  the  price  of  schoohng  their 
children,  with  the  additional  charge  for  firewood,  is  too 
high  considering  the  advantage  the  Master  has  by 
living  free  of  rent. 

"That  the  Schoolhouse  which  was  originally  in- 
tended to  be  reserved  and  kept  for  that  purpose  and 
for  the  necessary  meetings  of  the  Trustees  and  Con- 
tributors, is,  considerable  part  thereof,  turned  into  a 
dwelling  and  boarding  house. 

"And  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  place  are  deprived 
of  the  benefits  they  expected  by  taking  in  Boarders  by 
the  present  Master's  engrossing  to  himself,  the  whole 
advantage  thereof,  and  to  the  manifest  prejudice  of 
his  proper  functions." 

This  petition  or  "Remonstrance"  was  regarded  so 
seriously  that  a  special  meeting  to  consider  it  was 
called  for  the  20th  of  the  same  month.  After  hearing 
charges  and  grievances  "that  may  have  happened  in 
the  economy  and  management  of  the  schools"  the 
Board  came  to  these  conclusions: 

"That  no  person  shall  be  obliged  to  pay  any  more 
than  2s.  6d.  for  each  scholar  to  purchase  firewood  for 
the  ensuing  year. 

"George  Alsentz,  Christopher  Sauer,  John  Jones 
and  Nicholas  Rittenhouse,  are  appointed  a  Committee 
to  receive  the  applications  of  such  as  conceive  them- 
selves uncapable  to  pay  the  present  price  settled  for 
schooling  and  firewood,  and  report  their  proceedings 
herein  to  next  meeting  in  order  that  the  Board  may 
consider  on  what  may  be  further  necessary  to  be  done 
therein." 

In  regard  to  the  improper  use  of  the  schoolhouse 

63 


A  History  of  The    G ermantown  A cademy 

it  was  "resolved  that  there  be  no  Ironing  or  other 
work  done  or  any  fire  kept  in  the  said  upper  rooms 
after  night  and  that  it  be  particularly  recommended  to 
the  English  Schoolmaster  to  take  care  that  this  resolve 
be  literally  and  duly  fulfilled." 

"The  English  School  Master"  received  rather 
peremptory  orders  not  to  send  boys  on  errands  during 
school  hours,  and  the  other  question  which  had  been 
a  burning  one  in  some  of  the  Burghers'  minds — his 
boarders — was  disposed  of  diplomatically.  Dove  was 
to  be  allowed  to  retain  his  boarders  "until  the  15th  of 
June  next,"  but  he  was  "not  to  engage  any  more,"  and 
the  reason  is  set  forth  more  explicitly  in  another 
minute: 

"  The  Board  at  the  same  time  maturely  deliberated 
on  one  of  the  intentions  of  erecting  this  Union  School- 
house,  which  was,  that  the  inhabitants  of  Germantown 
might  reap  some  benefit  by  taking  in  Boarders  who 
might  be  sent  to  said  school,  do  direct  that  such 
members  of  this  Board  as  reside  in  this  town  should 
immediately  recommend  it  to  such  of  the  inhabitants 
as  are  desirous  of  taking  in  Boarders,  that  they  publish 
an  advertisement  in  the  Dutch  and  English  newspapers 
expressive  of  their  inclination  to  do  so  in  order  that 
the  benefit  resulting  from  dieting  and  lodging  of  youth 
may  be  enjoyed  by  them." 

That  Dove  counted  largely  upon  the  privilege  of 
boarding  his  pupils  for  his  compensation  is  self- 
evident.  Evidently,  from  his  point  of  view,  based 
upon  long  experience,  it  was  a  prerogative  of  the 
master.  Yet,  now,  he  was  given  until  June  15th  to 
abandon    a    remunerative    practice    because    he    had 

64 


David  James  Dove  and  Pelatiah  Webster 

successfully  competed  with  the  townspeople.  At  the 
time,  Dove  had  twenty  boarders,  and  at  the  meeting 
in  May,  the  Trustees  relented  so  far  as  to  tell  him  he 
might  retain  them  so  long  as  they  desired  to  stay ;  but 
that  he  must  not  take  any  new  boarders  "  unless  the 
present  number  be  reduced  to  sixteen,  and  then  only 
such  as  shall  make  up  the  said  number  of  sixteen." 

At  this  same  meeting  a  step  was  taken  to  provide 
a  schoolmistress,  who  was  to  be  employed  to  take 
charge  of  "  their  daughters  and  young  children  in 
reading,  writing,  &c.,  &c.,"  if  the  number  offered 
should  be  enough  to  support  a  mistress.  It  was  also 
ordered  that  "  no  person  in  future  be  admitted  as  a 
scholar  to  the  English  School  but  upon  application 
first  made  to  two  of  the  Trustees,  who  are  hereby 
declared  to  be  the  judges  of  the  propriety  of  such 
admission,  and  that  the  Master  shall  not  receive  any 
child  in  the  school  but  upon  receipt  of  a  permit 
agreeable  to  the  resolution  of  the  4th  of  September, 

1761." 

Some  astonishment  has  been  caused  by  the  fact 
that  Dove  was  able  to  keep  twenty  boarders  in 
quarters  nowadays  regarded  as  none  too  large  for  one 
quarter  of  that  number  of  persons.  In  the  small  west 
master's  house  which  he  occupied,  there  were  two 
rooms  on  the  ground  floor  and  two  on  the  second 
floor,  but  it  is  conceded  that  he  had  commandeered 
some  of  the  spare  rooms  in  the  school-building, 
although  now  it  was  designed  to  usurp  some  of  them 
for  a  schoolmistress  and  her  primary  class.  But, 
viewed  in  the  light  of  those  years,  there  was  nothing  so 
very  wonderful  in  Dove's  management  of  his  numerous 

65 


A  History    of  The   Ge  rm  ant  own  Academy 

boarders.  He  very  probably  lodged  them  in  dormi- 
tories, and,  consequently,  very  comfortably,  if  not  very 
hygienically,  stowed  them  away  in  the  two  second-story 
rooms. 

In  the  Board's  decision  to  control  the  admission  of 
pupils  to  the  English  School,  through  a  special  com- 
mittee appointed  for  that  purpose,  may  be  seen  the 
foreshadowing  of  the  end  of  Dove's  reign.  It  is  true, 
when  his  usher,  Wood,  resigned,  he  was  ordered  to 
secure  a  proper  person  to  serve  in  the  station  of 
usher,  but  that  order  probably  arose  from  the  fact 
that  the  Board  did  not  know  where  to  look  for  such 
a  person,  or  did  not  have  the  time  to  spare  to  do  so. 
It  is  very  plain  that  Dove's  insatiability,  so  far  as  his 
"hotel  keeping"  went,  was  at  the  bottom  of  the 
trouble.  Certainly,  the  time  had  arrived  when  there 
was  to  be  a  parting  of  the  ways,  and  it  came  sooner 
than  Dove  expected  that  it  would.  It  must  have 
become  known  to  the  Board  that  the  new  house  that 
was  going  up  almost  alongside  of  the  school,  was  to  be 
tenanted  by  Dove.  He  was  scarcely  the  kind  of  man 
who  could  have  kept  his  intentions  secret,  even  if  he 
had  not  taken  the  Trustees  into  his  confidence. 

That  Dove  intended  to  repeat  in  Germantown  what 
he  had  begun  in  Philadelphia — holding  a  Mastership 
in  the  Academy,  and  conducting  a  private  school 
independently — seems  to  be  evident,  from  the  fact 
that  he  had  scarcely  taken  up  the  work  at  the  Union 
School  before  he  made  arrangements  to  build  a 
boarding  school  almost  beside  the  former.  He  was 
only  about  fifty-one  or  fifty-two  years  old  at  the  time, 
and   ambition    was    still    warm    within    him.     He  was 

66 


David  James  Dove  and  Pelatiah  PFebster 

enterprising,  and  had  more  of  "  arithmetick  and 
accounts"  in  his  make-up  than  the  average  school- 
master of  the  time.  Whether  or  not  thrift  was  one  of 
his  virtues  we  do  not  know,  but  that  he  was  eager 
for  gain  is  only  emphasized  by  the  few  glimpses  of  him 
that  we  get  through  his  contemporaries. 

If  the  action  taken  by  the  Board  was  expected  to 
discipline  Dove,  and  make  him  amenable  to  the 
Trustees,  it  missed  its  mark.  Dove  went  on  in  his 
usual  way,  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  He  thoroughly 
understood  his  business,  and  had  the  independent 
spirit  of  the  experienced  man.  As  he  refused,  or 
neglected,  to  obey  instructions,  the  Trustees  decided 
to  dismiss  him.  So,  at  the  meeting  on  June  24,  1763, 
the  Board  adopted  a  minute,  which,  at  least,  gives  the 
Trustees'  side  of  the  quarrel : 

"  This  Board  being  informed  that  the  present 
English  Schoolmaster,  David  James  Dove,  publicly 
declared  in  the  presence  of  one  of  them,  that  he 
would  not  obey  the  resolutions  of  the  Board  any 
longer  than  until  he  had  his  building  finished  which  he 
is  now  erecting  contiguous  to  the  schoolhouse;  thereby 
trampling  on  the  authority  of  the  said  Trustees,  and 
effectually  subverting  the  order  and  economy  of  the  said 
school ;  moreover,  it  was  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of 
this  Board,  that  the  said  David  James  Dove  has,  in 
several  instances,  behaved  himself  in  a  very  unjustifiable 
manner,  tending  very  much  to  the  injurious  education 
of  said  School. 

"  Wherefore  it  is  unanimously  resolved,  to  remove 
the  said  David  James  Dove  from  the  office  of  English 
Schoolmaster  of  said  school,  with  this  condition  that 

67 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

he  may  remain  three  months  from  this  time,  to  occupy 
that  station  (but  no  longer),  provided  he  conducts  in 
a  sober,  decent,  and  regular  manner  during  the  said 
time. 

"  As  soon  as  the  Board  had  formed  the  above  res- 
olution of  removing  the  said  D.  James  Dove  from 
the  station  aforesaid,  they  desired  him  to  attend  them 
at  their  Chamber,  when  they  immediately  informed  him 
of  this  said  resolve,  to  which  he  immediately  acquiesced 
by  replying  in  these  words :  '  It  is  very  well,  gentle- 
men.' " 

At  the  same  meeting  steps  were  taken  to  provide 
a  successor  to  Dove,  and  a  most  modern  method  was 
used  to  achieve  the  purpose — the  Trustees  advertised 
for  him  in  the  "  Pennsylvania  Gazette"  of  July  7,  1763. 
At  the  same  time  they  called  a  meeting  to  change  the 
time  of  year  of  the  annual  meeting.  As  the  whole 
advertisement  is  interesting  it  is  given  in  its  entirety : 

"  The  Trustees  of  the  Germantown  School  having 
fallen  into  consideration  that  several  inconveniences 
attended  the  meeting  of  the  contributors  to  the  said 
school  on  the  first  day  of  January  occasioned  by  the 
severity  of  the  season  and  the  badness  of  the  roads ; 
it  was  therefore  resolved  that  the  general  meeting  of 
the  said  contributors  should  be  requested  at  the 
School  House  on  Monday,  the  8th  day  of  August 
next,  at  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  in  order  to  con- 
sider and  determine  whether  it  would  not  be  greatly 
to  the  interest  of  the  said  School  if  the  Anniversary 
Day  for  electing  the  Trustees  and  Treasurer  thereof, 
was  changed  from  said  first  day  of  January  to  the  first 
Thursday  in  the  month   of   May  yearly?     The    con- 

68 


David  James  Dove  and  Pelatiah  Webster 

tributors  are  therefore  desired  to  attend  on  the  said 
8th  day  of  August  for  that  purpose. 

*'  N.  B. — A  Schoolmaster,  capable  of  teaching  the 
English  language  grammatically,  and  of  instructing 
youth  in  writing,  arithmetic,  &c.,  is  wanted  for  the 
aforesaid  School.  Anyone  qualified  for  such  service, 
is  desired  to  apply  to  Joseph  Galloway,  or  Thomas 
Wharton  in  Philadelphia,  and  they  will  inform  him  of 
the  salary,  &c.,  that  will  be  given." 

It  is  very  evident  which  section  of  the  trustees 
desired  the  change  in  the  time  of  year  for  holding  the 
annual  meeting.  Those  who  lived  in  Germantown  had 
comparatively  such  short  distances  to  cover  between 
their  homes  and  the  school  that  the  state  of  the  roads 
in  January  could  scarcely  affect  them  seriously.  That 
it  was  the  English  or  Quaker  contributors  who  lived 
in  Philadelphia,  and  who  seem  to  have  been  in  control, 
who  desired  and  advocated  the  change  is  proven  by  a 
protest  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Martin  G.  Brumbaugh, 
Superintendent  of  Public  Schools  in  Philadelphia.  This 
document  bears  the  signatures  of  forty-two  German 
burghers,  all  of  them  contributors  to  the  school,  who 
protest,  fearing,  as  Dr.  Brumbaugh  suggested  in  his 
address  on  December  6,  1909,  that  if  the  English  stock- 
holders could  thus  easily  set  aside  one  fundamental 
rule,  what  was  to  prevent  them  setting  all  of  the 
original  agreements  aside.  What  the  good  burghers 
feared  was  only  too  well  founded  on  fact  and  soon  to 
be  realized,  and  that  was  the  inevitable  English  dom- 
ination of  the  institution.  They  arise  now  and  again 
with  other  protests,  and  as  some  of  them  are  innocent 
enough,  the  Board  meets  them  halfway  with  a  compro- 

69 


A  History    of  The  Germatitown  Academy 

mise.  Gradually,  in  spite  of  the  reaffirmation  that  the 
German  and  English  schools  are  to  be  "  forever " 
maintained,  the  need  for  the  former,  as  the  American 
spirit  catches  hold  of  the  second  and  third  generation 
of  the  founders  of  the  town,  diminishes,  and  the  School 
becomes  what  was  its  destiny — an  English  Academy. 
Now,  we  are  not  told  how  many  qualified  or  un- 
qualified schoolmasters  applied  to  Joseph  Galloway  or 
Thomas  Wharton  in  answer  to  the  advertisement,  but 
there  was  in  Philadelphia  at  the  time  a  man,  equally  as 
remarkable  as  Dove,  who  did  apply,  and  his  qualifica- 
tions evidently  were  regarded  as  satisfactory,  for  at  the 
meeting  of  the  Board  on  August  17,  1763,  he  was 
chosen  to  succeed  the  militant  Englishman.  It  has 
been  said  he  entered  upon  his  work  on  August  24th  of 
that  year ;  but  evidently  that  is  a  mistake,  for  Dove 
was  given  until  September  24th  to  retire,  and,  as  will 
be  apparent  from  a  communication,  addressed  evi- 
dently to  Joseph  Galloway  and  Thomas  Wharton, 
intimating  very  plainly  that  Dove  "  held  the  fort "  for 
at  least  two  more  days.  This  document,  which  is 
among  the  Wharton  papers  printed  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Magazine  of  History  and  Biography  for  April, 
1909,  throws  considerable  light  upon,  even  if  it  fails  to 
entirely  clear  up,  this  episode. 

"Germantown,  Septr.  26th,  1763. 
"  Gentlemen — 

"After  Meeting  this  Morning  at  Seven  o'clock  we 
sent  a  Letter  Requesting  your  Meeting  us  at  Three  in 
the  afternoon  When  our  Messenger  Inform'd  us  one 
was  gone  out  of  town  and  the  others  so  Engaged  in 

70 


David  James  Dove  and  Pelatiah  Webster 

their  own  privet  affairs  that  they  Could  not  attent. 
Therefore  wee  take  this  second  Oppertunety  (in  one 
Day)  to  Let  you  Know  that  wee  have  Done  Nothing, 
but  adjurn'd  till  tomorrow  at  Ten  o'clock  at  which 
time  wee  Ernestly  Request  you  Will  Meet  us  to  Take 
Possession  of  the  Schoolhouse  that  Webster  may 
Enter  Agreeable  to  our  contract  with  him.  We  pay 
so  much  Respect  to  your  Cityzens  that  wee  are  Deter- 
mined to  Do  Nothing  in  the  present  affairs  without 
you  Except  you  Which  wee  Cannot  Suspect  Should 
prove  Cowards  in  the  Day  of  Battle  Until  which  time 
wee  Shall  Subscribe  our  Selves  your  Real  friends. 

My  frd. 

I  will  waite  on  Thos  Whar-  George  Alsentz 

ton      tomorrow      Morning     9  Christopher  Sower 

O'clock,  if  he  goes  in  a  Chair  John  Jones 

I'll  take  a  Seat,  if    not  attend  Rich  Johnson 

him  on  Horseback,  &  Convince  Jacob  Naglee 

those  Gent,   at  Germt.  we  are  Niclaus  Rittinghouse 

not  cowards.  John  Vanderen 

J.  G.  (alloway)  Tho.  Livezey." 

From  this  letter  it  is  evident  that  Dove  did  not 
retire  without  a  struggle.  Yet  why  he  should  be  so 
perverse  and  fail  to  accept  the  inevitable  is  past  under- 
standing. He  had  been  dismissed  ;  he  had  been  given 
a  quarter's  notice  and,  doubtless,  a  quarter's  pay;  his 
successor  had  been  appointed  and  was  waiting  to  take 
over  his  new  duties,  and  in  spite  of  these  reasons  for 
his  retirement,  he  evidently  was  holding  the  school  in 
defiance  of  the  Trustees.     While  the  picture  now  is 

71 


A  History   of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

very  ludicrous  the  good  burghers  probably  failed  to 
appreciate  the  humor  of  the  situation. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  dispute  between  Dove 
and  the  Trustees,  there  is  ample  evidence  in  the  min- 
utes of  the  meetings  of  the  Board  that  it  extended 
nearly  a  year,  and  that  the  Trustees  were  heartily  sore 
about  the  matter.  We  learn  from  the  minutes  of  the 
meeting  held  August  i6,  1764,  that  they  had  decided 
to  bring  the  dispute  to  an  end.  "The  consideration 
of  making  the  final  settlement  with  the  late  English 
Master,  David  James  Dove,"  runs  the  minute,  "  being 
again  resumed  and  thought  necessary  to  have  it  done 
without  loss  of  time,  it  is  recommended  to  Jos'h 
Galloway,  Esq.,  Thomas  Livezey  and  Abel  James  to 
attend  thereto  and  moreover  obtain  from  him  the 
Parchment  Roll  containing  the  list  of  scholars  admitted 
during  the  time  he  taught,  and  an  ax  and  saw  for  cut- 
ting wood  said  to  have  been  detained  by  him." 

This  would  point  to  a  possible  difference  over  a 
financial  transaction,  and  to  the  possibility  of  Dove 
keeping  the  parchment  roll,  the  ax  and  saw  for 
cutting  wood,  until  the  Trustees  had  paid  him  money 
he  believed  still  due  to  him.  Though  this  is  the 
merest  conjecture,  such  a  transaction  was  characteristic 
of  Dove. 

Before  turning  attention  to  Pelatiah  Webster,  there 
is  another  letter  in  the  Wharton  papers  from  which  the 
above  letter  was  taken,  which  is  not  without  interest  in 
throwing  light  on  the  School's  early  days,  and  as  also 
showing  the  comparatively  careless  manner  in  which 
contagious  diseases  in  those  times  were  regarded: 

72 


cJ^ 


l/i'//7/n'/iA!, 


(~^A   /> 


>^    ///^2 


Jv-^-      t</^     ^i^C    ■      ^ '"^'-^  / 


\ 


A  Personal  Letter  from  Dove  to  Wharton 
Photographed  from  the  Original 


David  James  Dove  and  Pe latiah  Webster 

"  Germantown,  Deer.  24,  1762 
"  Sir— 

"  I  thought  it  incumbent  on  me  to  acquaint  you, 
that  my  Usher  has  got  the  smallpox,  that  you  and  Mr. 
Lewis  may  consult  what  Measures  are  to  be  taken 
with  Mr.  Charley. 

"  If  you  desire  he  should  come  to  Town  your 
Brother's  Chair  will  be  here  to  Day  for  little  Joe.    I  am 

"  Sir, 
"  Your  Oblig'd  humble  Sert. 
"  To  Thomas  Wharton.  D.  Jam.  Dove" 

The  "  Mr.  Charley "  referred  to  was  Charles 
Mifflin,  ward  of  Thomas  Wharton.  Nowadays,  if  such 
a  thing  were  to  occur,  the  school  would  be  closed  and 
fumigated  ;  every  street  in  the  vicinity  roped  off  and 
guarded  by  a  platoon  of  police,  while  everybody  within 
a  radius  of  a  quarter  mile  submitted  to  being  vac- 
cinated. Whether  smallpox  was  epidemic  in  the  year 
1762  is  not  known  ;  but  there  was  a  yellow  fever  scare 
that  year,  and  the  smallpox  caused  some  anxiety  in  the 
year  1756  and  1773.  Statistics  of  this  character  are 
unavailable,  for  the  facilities  and  the  knowledge 
necessary  to  combat  plagues  were  still  rather  feeble  in 
the  eighteenth  century. 

Pelatiah  Webster  certainly  took  charge  of  the 
English  School  in  September  of  the  year  1763,  but  for 
the  reason  already  given,  the  exact  date  is  unknown. 
In  choosing  Mr.  Webster,  the  Trustees  had  exchanged 
one  genius  for  another :  one  eccentric  character  for  an 
equally  peculiar  man;  and,  it  may  be  added,  one  able 
teacher  for  one  who  was  little  inferior  as  a  tutor,  and 

73 


A  History    of  The  Germantown  Acadeiny 

certainly  superior  as  a  philosopher.  History  has  dealt 
rather  unfairly  with  both  these  truly  remarkable  men, 
and  has  so  far  ignored  their  existence  that  what  we 
learn  of  their  work  must  be  obtained  from  fragments 
pieced  together  by  deduction.  Unsatisfactory  as 
such  a  process  is,  it  permits  of  a  more  or  less  life-like 
sketch,  even  if  it  fails  to  furnish  us  with  a  strong  and 
virile  portrait  of  the  men. 

At  the  time  he  received  the  appointment  to  the 
Germantown  Union  School,  Webster  was  a  man  of 
either35  years  or  38  years.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  Sep- 
tember 4,  1795,  the  newspaper  notice  announced  his  age 
as  70  years,  which  would  bring  the  year  of  his  birth, 
1725;  but  on  the  Register  of  Burials  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church,  in  whose  grounds  he  was  buried, 
he  is  entered  as  67  years  of  age,  and  there  is  strong 
probability  that  this  is  the  more  accurate  statement. 
He  came  to  Germantown,  then,  as  a  man  of  some  ex- 
perience. Born  in  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  of  another 
branch  of  a  family  that  gave  the  great  lexicographer 
to  the  world,  he  was  early  sent  to  Yale,  and  in  1746 
was  graduated  from  that  college.  After  his  gradua- 
tion he  entered  the  ministry,  and  settled  in  the  county 
of  Hampshire,  in  Massachusetts,  filling  a  pulpit  in 
Greenwich  during  the  year  1748-9.  He  is  said  to  have 
been  dismissed  from  his  pastoral  charge,  but  the  pro- 
vocation that  made  this  necessary  is  unknown,  neither 
is  it  known  definitely  what  he  did  between  that  time 
and  the  year  1755,  when  he  is  said  to  have  come  to 
Philadelphia.  Some  of  his  descendants  assert  he  was 
engaged  in  trade,  but  as  they  deny  he  ever  was  a 
teacher,  it  would  appear  their  information   is   hardly 

74 


David  James  Dove  and  Pelatiah  Webster 

more  accurate  than  that  of  independent  investigators. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  equally  authoritatively 
hazarded  that  after  he  left  New  England,  he  taught 
in  an  academy  in  the  South.  While  this  statement  is 
not  based  upon  incontrovertible  evidence,  it  is  at  least 
plausible,  and  while  he  amassed  a  fortune  in  trade, 
this  had  not  begun  to  be  made  until  after  he  retired 
from  the  Germantown  School. 

Mr.  Webster  retired  from  the  Germantown  Union 
School  in  April,  1766,  and,  as  advertisements  in  the 
Philadelphia  newspapers  of  the  time  show,  immediately 
opened  a  general  store  at  Front  and  Arch  Streets. 
Which  corner  he  occupied  is  not  known,  for  as  all  the 
corner  buildings  at  that  junction  have  been  replaced 
by  other  structures,  Webster's  store  has  passed  away. 
According  to  his  advertisements,  he  dealt  in  such 
miscellaneous  merchandise  as  Balm  of  Gilead,  looking- 
glasses,  tanner's  oil,  and  pickled  lobsters.  In  1768 
his  store  was  at  the  lower  end  of  Market  Street.  That 
he  prospered  in  business  is  known,  and  when  the  Revo- 
lution came  it  found  him  a  merchant  with  many  con- 
nections, some  of  them  in  Connecticut. 

During  the  early  days  of  that  struggle,  his  house  was 
almost  nightly  the  meeting  place  of  delegates  to  the 
Congress  sitting  in  Philadelphia.  Especially  did  the 
delegates  from  Connecticut  visit  him  and  consult  him 
on  the  money  concerns  of  the  United  States.  He  was 
held  in  high  regard  as  an  economist,  and  his  shrewd- 
ness in  money  matters  is  attested  in  letters  of  his  still 
extant.  He  seems  to  have  been  twice  married,  for 
when  Mrs.  Rebecca  Webster  was  buried  in  the  bury- 
ing ground  of   the   Second    Presbyterian   Church,  on 

75 


A  History    of  The  Germantown  Academy 

October,  lo,  1793,  her  age  was  given  as  40  years,  and 
yet,  in  1782,  he  had  at  least  one  daughter  married.  He 
had  one  son,  who  died  in  Philadelphia  in  the  summer 
of  1778,  and  two  daughters.  One  of  these,  Ruth, 
married  John  Perit,  of  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  and 
had  issue  two  sons :  John  W.  Perit,  who  settled  in 
Philadelphia,  and  Pelatiah  Perit,  who  became  a  resident 
of  New  York.  Mrs.  Perit,  after  the  death  of  her 
husband,  married  a  Mr.  Leffingwell,  of  Norwich,  Con- 
necticut, and  survived  until  near  the  middle  of  the  last 
century.  Webster's  other  daughter,  Sophia,  married 
Thaddeus  Perit,  and  her  only  son  was  named  for  her 
father,  Pelatiah.  Webster's  letters  to  his  daughter, 
Sophia,  on  the  eve  of  her  marriage,  were  recently  pub- 
lished in  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History  and 
Biography,  and  show  that  the  economist  was  a  man  of 
affluence  at  that  time.  He  bought  his  daughter  a  house 
in  New  Haven,  and  sent  her  a  present  of  silver.  But 
these  gifts  were  accompanied  by  the  warning  that  this 
outlay  "  makes  cash  rather  scarce  with  me  at  present, 
so  you  must  do  with  as  little  as  you  conveniently  can." 

He  kept  his  ground  during  the  stormy  days  of  the 
Revolution,  and  when  the  British  entered  Philadelphia 
they  found  him  here,  but  found  him  a  patriot,  not  a 
loyalist.  Consequently,  they  imprisoned  him  in  the 
Walnut  Street  jail,  and  through  their  futile  efforts  to 
convert  him  caused  him  a  loss  which  he  estimated  to 
be  over  five  hundred  pounds. 

After  the  war,  he  was  able  to  mend  his  fortunes, 
and  at  the  same  time  watch  the  building  of  a  new 
nation.  About  the  way  the  Government  should  be 
erected    he  had  his  own  notions,  and  while  he  never 

76 


David  James  Dove  and  Pe latiah  JVebster 

entered  public  life  and  never  held  office,  he  had  theo- 
ries on  the  subject  of  "rag  money"  and  free  trade  and 
about  the  proper  form  of  a  stable  government,  that  he 
gave  to  the  world  in  the  shape  of  pamphlets.  The 
Confederation  of  1777,  however,  was  formed  without 
either  consulting  Webster  or  heeding  his  prophetic 
little  book,  entitled  "A  Dissertation  on  the  Political 
Union  and  Constitution  of  the  Thirteen  United  States 
of  North  America."  This  was  published  under  date 
of  February  16,  1783,  and  pointed  out  the  weaknesses 
of  the  Confederation  and  made  it  plain  that,  for  "their 
Preservation  and  Happiness,"  the  United  States  re- 
quired a  Constitution  providing  for  a  bicameral  system 
or  a  Congress  composed  of  two  chambers  "with  the 
concurrence  of  both  necessary  to  every  act."  He 
showed  quite  plainly  that  a  stable  fiscal  system  could 
be  established  only  by  wiping  out  the  existing  Federal 
Government  and  superseding  it  by  one  endowed  with 
independent  taxing  power.  He  provided  for  all  the 
branches  of  Government  subsequently  provided  by 
the  Constitution  of  1787,  and  even  some  of  the  early 
amendments  to  that  document  were  foreseen  by  Web- 
ster, who  had  shown  their  necessity. 

That  it  was  upon  this  little  "  Dissertation,"  that 
the  framers  of  the  Constitution  worked,  has  been 
shown,  first  by  Webster  himself,  in  his  reprint  of 
his  Essay,  in  the  year  1791,  and  ten  years  ago 
by  the  Hon.  Hannis  Taylor,  who  has  indicated 
conclusively  that  the  honor  of  "  inventing  "  our  form 
of  government  belongs  to  Pelatiah  Webster.  Mr. 
Taylor  has  caused  Congress  to  recognize  partly  the 
labors  of  this  unrecognized  man,  and  efforts  toward 

77 


A  History  of  The    German  town  Academy 

a  fuller  recognition  are  now  being  made.  After  more 
than  a  century,  the  one  man  who  was  responsible  for 
our  governmental  system  was  "  discovered,"  after 
having  been  ignored  by  the  statesmen  who  followed  his 
teachings,  and  now  an  earnest  attempt  to  rehabilitate 
his  fame  fortunately  is  being  made,  led  by  Mr. 
Taylor,  who  prepared  a  memorial  to  him  whom  he 
justly  entitles  "  The  Architect  of  Our  Federal  Consti- 
tution." 

Webster,  during  the  closing  years  of  his  life,  lived 
in  South  Water  Street,  Philadelphia.  His  house,  then 
numbered  47,  has  been  removed.  His  grave,  formerly 
in  the  burying  ground  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church,  then  on  Arch  Street,  between  Fifth  and 
Sixth  Streets,  was  removed  in  the  year  1867,  when  the 
grounds  were  sold,  and  is  now  in  Mt.  Vernon  Ceme- 
tery. But  there  is  no  certainty  as  to  its  location. 
What  is  pointed  out  as  the  resting  place  of  the  econ- 
omist is  covered  by  a  slab  of  marble,  on  which  imagi- 
nation alone  allows  the  enthusiast  to  pick  out  a  few 
letters  of  his  name. 

Like  the  first  English  master  at  the  Germantown 
School,  Webster  came  to  the  office  at  a  salary  of  ;^ioo 
a  year.  While  he  never  seems  to  have  been  ignorant 
of  the  value  of  money,  nor  especially  averse  to  its 
acquisition,  he  felt  the  responsibilities  of  his  position 
and  showed  from  the  beginning  an  earnest  desire  to 
make  the  school  worthy  of  its  situation  in  "  The 
Montpelier  of  Pennsylvania."  He  worked  hard  to 
accomplish  his  object  and  strove  to  put  its  curriculum 
on  a  higher  plane  than  that  upon  which  it  had  been 
begun.     His  ideals,  if  anything,  surpassed  those  which 

78 


David  James  Dove  and  P  e  I  a  t  i  a  h  We  b  st  e  r 

the  Trustees  entertained  for  their  great  project.  He 
gave  attention  to  the  improvement  in  the  methods  of 
teaching  and  management,  took  it  upon  himself  to 
personally  conduct  the  night  school,  formerly  entrusted 
to  the  Usher,  and  evidently  was  responsible  for  the 
attempt  made  by  the  Trustees  to  obtain  a  charter. 

As  should  have  been  expected  by  the  Trustees,  no 
charter  for  the  school  could  be  obtained.  It  had 
started  out  as  an  anti-Proprietary  project,  and  the 
Governor  had  no  intention  of  assisting  an  institution 
erected  and  maintained  by  members  of  a  party 
opposed  to  him.  Such  a  proposition,  too,  would 
scarcely  be  welcomed  by  the  College  and  Academy  of 
Philadelphia,  which  was  still  too  young,  and  its  destiny 
too  uncertain,  to  jeopardize  its  existence  by  lending 
assistance  to  a  rival  school. 

This  first  attempt  to  obtain  a  charter  seems  to 
have  been  the  result  of  the  meeting  of  the  Con- 
tributors on  January  2,  1764,  when  a  committee  con- 
sisting of  William  Logan,  Esq.,  the  son  of  James 
Logan,  who  at  this  time  was  the  occupant  of  Stenton  ; 
Edward  Millner,  or  Milnor,  a  successful  merchant 
in  Philadelphia  and  one  of  the  members  of  The 
Fishing  Company  of  Fort  St.  Davids ;  Christian 
Lehman,  whose  house  may  still  be  seen  retiring  snugly 
from  the  street  at  5524  Main  Street,  and  whose  surveys 
of  Germantown  property  have  been  of  utmost  value  to 
all  who  have  had  to  study  Colonial  Germantown  ;  and 
Paul  Engle,  Jr.,  were  instructed  to  hold  a  conference 
with  a  committee  to  be  appointed  by  the  Trustees  for 
the  purpose,  with  a  view  to  devising  means  of  obtaining 
incorporation.     The  Trustees  appointed  from  its  body 

79 


A  History   of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

a  committee,  consisting  of  Joseph  Galloway,  George 
Alsentz,  Jacob  Neglee,  and  John  Jones,  who  were 
instructed  to  call  upon  William  Logan  "  and  endeavor 
to  prevail  upon  him  to  execute  the  above  piece  of 
service  for  said  school ;  wherefore  Richard  Johnson, 
George  Alsentz,  Jacob  Neglee,  and  John  Jones  are 
requested  to  inform  him  of  the  opinion  of  the  Board." 
The  endeavors  of  Logan,  if  ever  they  were  made,  failed 
of  success,  and  the  school  was  not  incorporated  until 
twenty  years  later.  In  May  another  committee  was 
appointed  to  petition  John  Penn,  Esq.,  Governor  of 
Pennsylvania,  to  grant  the  charter,  but  this  effort  was 
unsuccessful. 

The  desire  of  Webster  to  raise  the  standard  of  the 
school  to  almost  college  rank  was  attended  with 
cautious  encouragement  from  the  Board.  At  the 
Trustees'  meeting  on  March  3,  1764,  the  whole  ques- 
tion of  the  management  of  the  institution  was  very 
deliberately  attacked  and  discussed.  The  minute 
relates : 

"  This  Board  taking  into  their  consideration  the 
present  economy  and  management  of  the  school  under 
the  superintendency  of  Pelatiah  Webster,  the  present 
English  Master,  came  to  the  following  proposals,  viz., 
Whether  the  mode  of  instruction  generally  followed  in 
schools  should  be  pursued,  or  whether  the  English 
tongue  should  be  taught  Grammatically,  attended  with 
lectures ;  and  whether  arithmetic,  the  mathematics, 
logic,  &c.,  should  be  taught  in  the  customary  manner, 
or  whether  they  should  all  be  taught  with  lectures,  and 
an  additional  sum  paid  for  the  teaching  of  them  in  the 
latter  manner. 

80 


David  James  Dove  and  Pe lati ah  Webster 

"  Resolved,  that  the  instruction  of  the  youth  in  the 
Languages  Grammatically,  and  with  suitable  lectures 
at  the  same  time,  and  also  in  Arithmetic,  Mathematics, 
History,  Logic,  and  other  Branches  of  Learning,  with 
Lectures,  will  undoubtedly  tend  to  the  effectual  ad- 
vancement of  the  knowledge  of  the  scholars,  and  also 
to  the  reputation  of  the  school :  But  the  Board  is 
nevertheless  of  the  opinion.  That  every  parent  and 
guardian  should  have  in  his  election  to  direct  whether 
his  child  or  ward  shall  be  taught  in  the  above  manner, 
or  in  the  usual  mode  taught  in  common  schools ;  where- 
fore, notwithstanding  the  usefulness  of  teaching  the 
scholars  the  languages  grammatically  and  with  lectures, 
and  the  sciences  also  with  lectures  ;  yet  many  parents 
and  guardians  may  not  incline  to  have  their  children  or 
wards  taught  in  any  other  manner  than  what  has  been 
heretofore  practiced  in  this  school.  The  present  mas- 
ter, therefore,  and  all  future  masters  who  may  preside 
in  the  English  School  here,  shall  be  obliged  himself 
to  hear  each  scholar  three  times  a  week,  who  is  taught 
reading,  writing.  Arithmetic,  etc.,  in  the  said  common 
mode." 

From  the  very  few  references  to  the  German 
School  it  may  be  assumed  that  it  was  regarded  as  out- 
side the  realm  of  experiment;  that  to  make  the  institu- 
tion attractive,  the  English  Department,  which  alone 
could  have  been  regarded  as  a  rival  of  the  College  and 
Academy  of  Philadelphia,  should  be  the  object  of  all 
improvements. 

At  this  meeting  the  terms  of  tuition  for  the  English 
School  were  revised,  and  as  they  are  illustrative  of  the 
cost  of  tuition  in  an  Academy,  more  than  a  decade  be- 

8i 


A  History  of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

fore  the  actual  opening  of   the  Revolution,  they  are 
here  reproduced: 

£   s. 

The  Dead  Languages,  per  annum    .         .         .     3     lo 
The  English  Tongue  Grammatically        .         .     3 
Reading,  Writing,  etc.,  in  the  common  manner,     o     40 

Another  practice,  put  in  force  by  this  meeting, 
which,  reasonable  enough  as  it  appears  to  us,  must 
have  been  regarded  as  revolutionary  in  the  year  1764, 
was  the  demand  made  upon  parents  and  guardians  to 
"  supply  their  children  with  such  books  as  the  present 
School  Master  thinks  most  likely  to  answer  the  end  of 
their  schooling."  Up  to  this  time  no  attempt  to 
standardize  the  school  books  in  schools  had  been 
made,  and  children  in  the  same  class  might  have  been 
found  being  taught  from  half-a-dozen  different  books 
on  the  subject.  They  brought  such  school  books  as 
their  parents  thought  fit  to  give  them,  and  doubtless 
very  often  carried  the  school  books  from  which  those 
parents  had  learned  "reading,  writing,  etc.,  in  the 
common  manner." 

In  a  few  days  the  "Pennsylvania  Gazette"  carried 
a  new  advertisement  of  the  Germantown  Union 
School,  which  must  have  given  annoyance  to  the 
authorities  at  the  College  and  Academy  of  Philadel- 
phia, as  that  of  a  rival  that  might  become  dangerous. 
The  meeting  "ordered  that  Samuel  Wharton  do  form 
an  advertisement  and  cause  the  same  to  be  immediately 
published  in  the  "  Gazette,"  expressive  of  there  being 
a  good  school  kept  at  this  place,  where  Latin,  Greek 
and  English  are  taught  Grammatically;  as  also  Writing, 

82 


David  James  Dove  and  Pe latiah  Webster 

Arithmetic,  Mathematics,  Surveying,  &c.,  by  a  Master 
well  informed  in  the  Languages  and  Sciences  .  .  . 
and  that  there  are  many  reputable  families  in  German- 
town  where  children  may  be  decently  and  reasonably 
boarded." 

An  idea  of  the  expense  of  keeping  a  pupil  in  the 
school  at  this  period,  and  of  the  time  devoted  to  studies 
may  be  obtained  from  a  school  bill  and  diary  of  Charles 
Mifflin,  who,  as  has  been  related,  was  the  ward  of 
Thomas  Wharton,  one  of  the  Trustees.  This  bill  and 
leaf  of  diary  are  in  the  Wharton  papers,  already  alluded 
to.  The  bill  was  made  out  in  blank  by  the  pupil,  and 
the  amounts  filled  in  by  the  master,  who,  as  will  be 
seen,  gave  a  good  account  of  Master  Charley : 

UNION   SCHOOL 

QUARTER  BILL  FOR  PRECEDING  QUARTER. 

Dr.     Chas.  Mifflin  to  Board  &  Lodging 

at  Lyd  per  ann 

Cloathing  at  £\i  per  Ann.    . 
Books  9s.,  paper.  Quills,  ink,  &c., 

3s-  4d 

Pocket  Money  at  6d.  per  week 
Time  woud  have  been  worth 

Schooling 


£1  10 

0 

3  0 

0 

12 

4 

6 

6 

10 

0 

£\\  18 

10 

17 

6 

£\i  16 

4 

Cr.  Began  to  Keep  a  Diary,  June  26  in  which  Time 
I   said  64  morning  Lessons  ;  Read   Eng.   History  59 

83 


A  History  of  The  German  town  Academy 

times,  Read  Poetry  26  times,  Read  Roman  History  24 
times,  Attended  Lectures  on  Latin  Gram.  62,  Attended 
Lectures  on  Eng.  Gram.  48  times,  Said  82  Lessons  in 
Corn.  Nepos.  Made  48  Latin  Exr.  Had  Tryals  for 
Places  at  the  Table  12  times.  Place  in  ist  Class  Head 
3  times,  Foot  None,  Absent  None,  Read  113  Chapters 
in  the  Holy  Bible,  Attended  Divine  worship  at  the 
Friends  meeting  12  times,  Had  8  Lectures  on  Geog. 
Maps.     Wrote  8  copies. 

Masters  Certificate  that  Charles  Mifflin  has  per- 
formed his  Exr.  well.  Studies  diligently  makes  a  Very 
Desirable  progress  in  Learning. 

To  Mr.  Thomas  Wharton  (his  Guardian). 

P.  Webster. 
Sept.  24,  1764. 

That  the  Board  was  giving  rather  particular  super- 
vision over  the  school,  probably  having  profited  by 
their  experience  with  Dove,  is  attested  by  a  note  in  the 
minutes  about  this  time,  which  records  the  fact  that 
nine  of  the  members  "  were  present  at  hearing  several 
of  the  classes  in  Latin  and  English  Grammar,  who 
performed  their  exercises  very  much  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  Board."  At  the  meeting  in  August,  1764,  the 
committee  that  had  been  appointed  for  the  purpose 
reported  that  all  the  money  on  hand  and  due  the 
school  amounted  to  ;^2i3  13s.  lod. ;  of  which  amount 
^32  3s.  4>^d.  was  a  cash  balance  in  the  hands  of  the 
Treasurer ;  ^74  los.  unpaid  subscriptions  for  the 
support  of  an  Usher;  ;^82  los.  6d.  in  small  unpaid 
subscriptions  for  the  Building  Fund,  and  ;^34  unpaid 
tuition.     In   addition  to  this  the  Committee  reported 

84 


■Un-^(,    yu.c:<^^  ^i/f'^f////y  ^''uAiy  ff     /^-^  ^.' Vt-x.^//,  ■  /i/yy?^^-, 


c.,... 


.  //* ,  /a  /U^>4a^,  /^..^<^-^'. 


/ 


:^  /x  ^^:x^ 


Charles  Mifflin's  Bill  for  Schooling  Rendered  to  His  Guardian 

Thomas  Wharton 

Photographed  from  the  Original   Document 


Charles  Mifflin's  Bill  for  Schooling  Rendered  to  His  Guardian 

Thomas  Wharton 

Photographed  from  the  Original   Document 


David  James  Dove  and  P  e  I  at  i  a  h  We  biter 

that  £^o  was  due  from  the  estate  of  the  late  Thomas 
York,  "  said  to  be  retained  ....  on  account  of 
an  action  against  the  lottery  managers." 

From  what  we  learn  of  the  school  during  this 
period,  the  year  1764  was  marked  by  a  policy  of 
progressiveness  and  expansion.  We  do  not  hear 
much  of  the  German  school,  which  began  with  more 
pupils  than  the  English  department,  and  it  may  be 
assumed  that  it  followed  the  even  tenor  of  its  way. 
There  was  apparently  no  necessity  to  emphasize  this 
department.  Germans  who  desired  such  a  school  for 
their  children  knew  of  it ;  the  Quakers,  and  other 
English  speaking  persons  gave  it  no  thought ;  conse- 
quently, if  the  school  was  to  become  an  institution  of 
note,  that  position  could  be  attained  solely  through 
popularizing  and  extending  the  English  department. 
The  trustees  evidently  held  this  view,  and  this  year, 
after  looking  the  ground  over  carefully,  prepared  for 
adding  to  the  departments.  The  reorganization  was 
agreed  upon  at  the  meeting  of  the  Board  on  Novem- 
ber 23d,  and  included  the  separation  of  the  "Latin 
School  "  from  the  English,  the  placing  of  the  latter 
under  an  independent  master ;  the  lowering  of  the 
rates  of  tuition  for  the  branches  in  the  English  school, 
"  reading,  writing,  and  cyphering,"  and  the  making 
the  salary  of  the  Latin  master  depend  upon  the  num- 
ber of  his  pupils.  Webster  was  furnished  with  a  copy 
of  these  resolutions,  which  were  to  become  effective 
the  second  quarter  of  the  following  year. 

The  plan,  however,  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
tried  at  the  time  appointed,  for  shortly  before  then,  or 
in  March,    1765,   Webster    resigned.       He    had    been 

85 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  Academy 

transferred  to  the  new  department,  and  is  named  as 
the  "  Latin  Master."  He  made  a  voyage  to  South 
Carolina  after  he  left  the  school,  evidently  having 
gone  south  with  the  hope  of  securing  another  posi- 
tion, and  this  impression  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that 
after  his  return  to  the  school  in  July  of  that  year,  when 
he  bowed  to  the  commands  of  the  Trustees  and  began 
work  upon  the  Latin  school,  which  soon  failed  owing 
to  lack  of  pupils,  he  requested  a  recommendation 
"  relative  to  his  conduct  here."  This  was  prepared 
for  him  by  a  committee  appointed  for  the  purpose, 
and  in  March,  1766,  Pelatiah  Webster,  who  was  to 
outline  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  found 
himself  practically  forced  out  of  a  country  school, 
and  with  a  neatly  written  and  carefully  worded  recom- 
mendation in  his  pocket  went  out  into  the  world  seek- 
ing a  position  as  tutor. 

A  strange  fatality  seems  to  have  followed  this 
man's  career.  It  was  his  fate  to  be  appreciated  by  few 
during  his  life  ;  to  be  ignored  by  the  statesmen  who 
acted  upon  his  suggestions ;  to  be  forgotten  by  his 
Alma  Mater,  when  it  celebrated  its  Bi-centennial  anni- 
versary ;  to  lie  in  an  obscure  grave,  and  to  be  unknown 
to  his  countrymen  who  have  prospered  and  enjoyed 
the  fruits  of  the  governmental  system  of  his  invention. 
Even  the  shops  and  dwellings  he  occupied  in  Philadel- 
phia are  gone,  and  not  a  vestige  remains  of  the  house 
in  which  he  died. 


86 


CHAPTER  IV 

The  Years  of  Pre-Revolutionary  Unrest 
1 766-1 774 

WHEN  Webster  took  his  leave  of  the 
Trustees,  placed  his  boxes  on  the 
Philadelphia  stage  and  re-entered  the 
metropolis  to  make  a  new  trial  of  his 
fortunes,  the  school  had  been  in  operation  for  nearly 
five  years.  That  was  time  enough  for  the  enthusiasm 
for,  and  the  novelty  of,  the  new  school  to  become 
blunted  by  familiarity.  Begun  as  a  rival  to  the 
College  and  Academy  of  Philadelphia,  the  inability  of 
the  trustees  to  handle  that  eccentric,  but  very  efficient 
instructor.  Dove,  caused  him  to  set  up  a  rival  institution 
beside  the  Union  School.  At  that  time  it  was 
beyond  the  wildest  hope  for  two  academies  to  prosper 
and  thrive  in  so  small  a  village  as  Germantown  then 
was.  With  Dove  contented  at  the  Union  School 
there  might  have  been  a  very  different  sequel  to  relate. 
But  this  was  not  to  be.  His  was  an  independent 
spirit,  inspired  by  the  knowledge  of  his  own  professional 
value.  The  good  burghers  were  of  a  different 
temperament,  and  could  not  understand  such  a  man. 
They  had  no  eccentricities  and  their  lives  were  the 
kind  that  follows  the  lines  of  convention.  They  were 
by  nature  incapable  of  understanding  Dove,  and 
he,  being  a  man  of  talent  and  experience,  was  im- 
patient under  their  restraining  hand.  The  result,  as 
has  been  related,  was  the  founding  of  a  rival  establish- 
ment by  the  "  irreverend  "  one. 

87 


A  History   of  The   G ermantown  Academy 

Any  attempt  to  prove  that  the  Union  School  did 
not  suffer  by  this  rivalry,  or  that  the  depression  into 
which  it  fell  was  to  be  attributed  to  other  circumstances, 
must  inevitably  fail;  yet,  it  may  be  urged  that  this  view 
is  unsustained  by  proof.  The  school  was  evidently 
going  back  when  Webster  took  charge ;  certainly, 
when  Dove  had  his  school  finished,  there  must  have 
been  some  desertions  from  its  roll  of  pupils.  The 
attempts  to  lend  variety,  the  little  gratuities  of  ex- 
pansion, were  not  made  until  the  hand  was  forced  by 
the  opposition. 

But  the  trustees  struggled  on.  They  had  what 
their  rival  lacked — they  had  a  community,  a  small  one 
to  be  sure,  but  yet  a  harmonious  body  of  inhabitants, 
at  their  back.  Dove  was  only  one,  but  the  trustees 
and  contributors  were  nearer  fifty. 

Before  Webster  resigned  in  March,  1765,  to  make 
his  trip  South,  the  Trustees  had  provided  a  tutor  for 
the  English  school.  This  was  John  Woods,  who  had 
been  an  usher  under  Dove,  had  opened  the  first  night 
school,  but  who  had  left  the  institution  in  1763,  possibly 
to  take  a  position  at  Dove's  school.  Woods  was  made 
master  of  the  English  School  "  for  reading,  writing 
and  arithmetick,"  on  March  25,  1765,  and  remained 
until  October  i,  1769,  when  he  resigned.  During  the 
three  months  Webster  was  absent  from  the  school,  it 
probably  was  his  duty  to  teach  the  higher  branches  as 
well.  From  March,  1766,  until  June  of  that  year  there 
was  no  Latin  school,  when  on  June  19th,  Abel  Evans 
was  chosen  Latin  master.  But  a  year  later,  owing  to 
the  want  of  enough  pupils,  he  was  dismissed  and  the 
Latin  school  once  more  closed.     That  teaching  in  the 

88 


The    Years    ofPre-Revolutionary    Unrest 

English  school  before  this  division  was  made  was  not 
very  agreeable  to  the  master,  and  probably  not  so 
effective  in  the  pupil  as  was  desired,  is  rather  evident 
when  it  is  considered  that  the  classical  courses  had  to 
be  taught  together  with  the  primary  English  branches. 
Abel  Evans,  when  he  took  charge  of  the  Latin  depart- 
ment, seems  to  have  been  treated  with  more  liberality 
than  the  trustees  exhibited  in  their  treatment  of 
Webster.  He  was  to  be  paid  £60  a  year  and,  in 
addition,  whatever  the  proceeds  of  the  tuition  might 
exceed  this  amount.  With  this  reasonable  compensa- 
tion went  the  privilege  "  to  lodge  in  the  westerly  room, 
middle  story." 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  "  Rules  and  Orders" 
for  masters  and  pupils,  which  had  been  in  contempla- 
tion since  the  opening  of  the  school,  were  at  last 
formulated.  On  October  31,  1766,  the  committee 
entrusted  with  their  preparation,  reported  nine  rules 
"  to  be  enjoined  to  be  observed  by  the  masters  and 
scholars  of  the  Germantown  Union  School."  One  is 
struck  by  the  far-reaching  power  assumed  by  the 
school  in  dealing  with  pupils,  for  one  of  them  even 
defines  their  conduct  in  their  own  homes. 

The  1st  Rule  defines  the  periods  of  the  sessions. 
In  winter  they  are  from  9  A.  M.  until  noon,  and  from 
2  P.  M.  until  probably  dark,  as  the  time  is  not 
mentioned,  and  as  darkness  in  the  winter  season  sets 
in  comparatively  early.  In  summer,  the  morning 
session  begins  an  hour  earlier,  and  lasts  until  noon,  and 
the  afternoon  session  begins  at  2  P.  M.  The  time  for 
dismissing  the  pupils  in  the  afternoons  is  not  given  in 
these  rules,   but  from  the  agreement  entered  into  by 

89 


A  History  of  The  G ermantow n  Academy 

John  Downey  as  English  master,  and  the  trustees,  in 
the  year  1769,  we  know  the  hour  for  dismissing  the 
class  was  5  o'clock. 

In  the  2nd,  3rd  and  4th  Rules,  tardiness,  absence, 
truancy,  and  neglect  of  duty  are  dealt  with,  and  are  to 
be  punishable  at  the  discretion  of  the  master. 

The  5th  and  6th  Rules  forbid  the  children  to  leave 
the  class  room  without  permission  of  the  trustees,  or 
to  play  in  or  about  the  schoolhouse,  after  being 
dismissed. 

There  is  an  echo  of  old  Dock's  "  Rules  of  Conduct " 
in  the  7th  Rule,  which  requires  "  every  scholar  when 
abroad  to  treat  all  people  with  civility,  modesty,  and 
good  manners,  more  especially  their  known  superiors 
and  elders;  and  when  at  home,  their  own  parents,  &c., 
with  all  dutiful  respect  and  affection." 

The  8th  Rule  commands  "  That  the  master  shall 
punish  or  correct  every  scholar  for  any  misdemeanor, 
neglect  of  duty  or  disorderly  behavior  in  such  manner 
as  they  shall,  in  their  discretion,  judge  to  be  proper 
and  equal  to  the  offense  committed." 

According  to  the  9th  Rule  these  rules  are  to  be 
read  before  the  School  on  the  opening  of  school  every 
Monday  morning. 

Although  the  trustees  were  improving  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  school  and  making  the  curriculum  more 
comprehensive,  it  appears  to  have  steadily  declined.  At 
the  annual  meeting  in  May,  1769,  the  Trustees  came 
to  the  conclusion  the  Latin  school  was  a  losing  venture, 
and  that  it  would  be  "impracticable  to  support"  it 
during  the  coming  year.  Evans,  the  Latin  master,  was 
informed  that  at  the  end  of  the  quarter  his  services 

90 


The   Years    of  Pre-Revolutionary   Unrest 

would  be  dispensed  with,  and  June  19th  he  retired. 
The  Treasurer  reported  to  the  meeting  a  balance  in 
the  treasury,  but  as  this  amounted  to  only  ^'j  8s.  6d., 
prudence  was  displayed  in  abandoning  the  classical 
department,  which  was  evidently  considered  to  be  re- 
sponsible for  the  condition  of  the  finances. 

The  condition  which  confronted  the  men  who  had 
tried  so  hard  to  render  their  experiment  in  education 
successful  and  profitable,  was  a  serious  one.  In  those 
days,  as  in  these,  when  a  business  venture  was  beginning 
to  fail,  the  tendency  was  to  "  cut  prices."  So  the 
Board  decided  that  success  was  denied  the  institution 
because  it  was,  while  giving  a  high  grade  of  education, 
also  charging  high  prices  for  the  tuition. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Board  on  June  4,  1767,  the 
new  remedy  was  proposed.  Just  how  the  trustees 
expected  to  mend  the  fallen  fortunes  of  the  school  may 
be  learned  from  the  minutes  of  that  meeting  : 

"  The  Board  taking  into  consideration  a  proposal 
of  Margaret  Thomas  of  keeping  a  mistress'  school  in 
one  of  the  upper  or  middle  rooms  of  the  schoolhouse; 
as  several  of  the  Trustees  present  are  well  acquainted 
with  her,  the  said  Margaret  and  her  carrecter,  which 
is  allowed  to  be  unacceptional,  and  is  also  allowed  to 
be  very  capable  of  managing  such  an  undertaking  to 
satisfaction.  It  is,  therefore  agreed  that  she  have  lib- 
erty to  open  and  keep  school  in  the  back  room  over 
the  Dutch  schoolroom,  when  the  present  Latin  mas- 
ter's time  is  up,  and  she  is  allowed  the  front  room, 
over  the  said  Dutch  schoolroom  for  a  lodging-room, 
and  may  take  possession  of  the  last-mentioned  as  soon 
as  it  may  suit  her  conveniency.     Subject  nevertheless 

91 


A  History   of  The   Germantown  Academy 

to  be  removed  by  order  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  at 
any  time  hereafter  upon  having  three  months  previous 
notice  for  that  purpose." 

How  Margaret  Thomas  succeeded  with  her  project, 
which  it  is  presumed  she  carried  on  at  her  own  risk,  for 
there  is  no  indication  that  she  was  employed  by  the 
Board,  we  do  not  know.  The  very  plain  inference, 
however,  is  that  she  appeared  during  a  period  of 
depression,  and  must  have  been  a  victim  of  it.  After 
having  given  her  permission  to  keep  a  "  Mistress' 
School,"  and  ordering  for  the  new  enterprise  "  two 
convenient  benches,"  the  Trustees  make  no  mention 
of  what  followed.  Excepting  for  the  annual  or  con- 
tributors' meeting  in  May,  there  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  any  meetings  of  the  Board.  Although  the 
German  school  seems  to  have  continued  on  its  smooth 
course  uninterruptedly,  the  English  school  so  far  as 
we  can  learn  must  have  merely  existed.  The  Latin 
School,  as  has  been  told,  was  abandoned. 

In  this  humdrum  way  the  school  continued  for 
about  two  years,  when  Woods,  the  English  master, 
who  must  have  had  a  very  unremunerative  experience, 
resigned.  His  resignation  was  to  take  effect  on 
October  i,  1769,  and  in  September  of  that  year,  the 
Board  succeeded  in  persuading  John  Downey  to  sign 
an  iron-clad  agreement  with  them.  This  agreement, 
which  reads  like  a  landlord's  lease,  only  omits  the 
waver  of  the  "exemption  law"  because  if  there  was 
one  it  would  not  apply  to  the  case,  and  does  not 
demand  that  the  English  master  renounce  the  "  Benefit 
of  Clergy"  because  that  ancient  custom  had  become 
a  legal  curiosity.     But  it  tied  the  master  up  by  such 

92 


The   Years    ofPre-Revolutionary   Unrest 

a  wonderfully,  beautiful  mass  of  contract  phraseology. 
If  Joseph  Galloway  had  not  retired  from  the  Board  the 
previous  May  its  authorship  would  surely  be  attrib- 
uted to  him.  It  may  be  found  in  toto  in  the  address 
of  Dr.  Brumbaugh  printed  at  the  end  of  this  history. 

After  their  disagreeable  experience  in  ridding  them- 
selves of  Dove,  the  trustees  had  made  up  their  minds 
to  have  no  repetition  of  such  strife.  They  made  it 
plain,  too,  who  was  to  be  responsible  for  broken 
window  panes,  the  schoolhouse  pump,  the  fences, 
garden  and  orchard.  Even  so  small  a  subject  as  the 
right  of  way  to  the  entry  was  stipulated.  And  the 
schoolmaster  was  to  remove  himself  with  celerity  and 
without  stirring  up  trouble  if  they  wanted  to  put 
somebody  in  his  place.  The  agreement,  no  matter 
how  it  is  viewed,  is  a  most  remarkable  document,  and 
shows  more  plainly  than  any  contemporary  gossip 
could,  what  expedients  the  Trustees,  in  their  fight  to 
preserve  the  institution,  were  forced  to  adopt. 

Downey  evidently  was  the  man  for  the  situation. 
Small  as  must  have  been  his  compensation,  he  seems 
to  have  been  so  well  satisfied  that  he  continued  for 
almost  five  years  to  head  the  English  department. 
Then,  on  April  i,  1774,  having  given  the  required 
notice,  it  is  presumed,  he  left  the  institution.  What- 
ever his  qualifications,  the  fact  that  he  remained  for 
four  and  a  half  years  indicates  that  he  was  able  to 
conduct  the  school  through  the  first  critical  stage  in  its 
career.  At  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  during  the 
Revolution,  Downey  seems  to  have  taken  up  arms.  He 
was  captain  of  the  Second  company  of  Philadelphia 
Mihtia,  Second  Battalion  of  Foot,  in  July,  1777.     His 

93 


A  History  of  The  Germ  antow  n  Academy 

knowledge  of  surveying  caused  the  Supreme  Council 
of  Pennsylvania  to  require  Colonel  Bradford  to  assign 
him  to  the  duty  of  surveying  the  Delaware  River  from 
Cooper's  Ferry  to  Salem,  His  command  at  that  time, 
July,  1777,  was  stationed  at  Billingsport.  After  the 
war  he  settled  in  Harrisburg  and  taught  school  there 
for  a  number  of  years.  Going  into  politics  he  became 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  Town  Clerk,  and  a  member  of 
the  State  Assembly.  In  1796  he  came  into  prominence 
as  an  advocate  of  a  system  of  education  to  be  carried 
out  by  the  state,  advancing  his  views  in  a  letter  to 
Governor  Mifflin,  which  is  regarded  today  as  one  of 
the  important  documents  in  the  history  of  education 
in  Pennsylvania. 


94 


CHAPTER   V 

The  Revolution,  1774-1783 

UNLESS  some  arrangement  was  made,  and 
there  is  no  evidence  that  it  was,  there  must 
have  been  several  days  in  the  year  1774 
when  the  English  School  was  without  a 
head.  Downey's  resignation  took  effect  on  April  ist, 
and  it  was  not  until  their  meeting  on  April  5th  that 
the  Trustees  named  his  successor.  This  was  Thomas 
Dungan,  who,  like  his  predecessor,  had  later  a  credit- 
able record  in  the  patriot  army. 

The  curtain  had  been  rung  up  on  the  prologue  to 
the  Revolution.  For  nine  years  the  country  had  been 
filled  with  unrest,  and  to  this  cause  some  of  the 
depression  into  which  the  School  had  fallen  should 
be  ascribed.  If  we  were  possessed  of  no  other  records 
of  the  Revolution  than  such  intimation  of  the  "  distrest 
times"  found  in  the  minutes  of  the  Trustees,  the 
details  of  that  struggle  would  pass  unknown.  None 
of  the  exciting  movements  of  those  troublous  times 
found  their  way  into  the  neatly  written  pages.  The 
passage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  the  Boston  Massacre,  the 
Townshend  Acts;  all  those  innumerable  aggravating, 
tantalizing  impositions  on  the  Colonists,  which  had 
made  democrats  of  the  Massachusetts  men,  and 
enemies  to  England  of  all  lovers  of  their  country,  are 
unnoticed  in  the  minute  book,  which  throws  absolutely 
no  light  upon  the  times.  There  is  a  reason  for  this, 
which  perhaps  need  not  be  examined  here,  but  briefly 
the  explanation  is  to   be  found  in  the   fact  that   the 

95 


TO     THE 

Delaware    Pilots. 


W 


E  took  the  Pleafure,  fome  Dajri  fincc,  of  kindly  adtnoniOiing  jroo  Itdt  jnr  Duly\  if  pCTr 
chince  you  Ihould  meet  with  thefr**,;  Saip  PoLtr,  CArTAiH  At»ui  i  Thiii  Dicctt 
which  u  hourly  expeftcd, 

We  hi»e  now  to  idd,  that  Macten  ripen  faft  herej  and  that  muib  ii  ufiSii'frm  tbtfi  Ltdi  vihi  mttt  with 
Stt  Tta  SUf. — There  n  fome  Talk  ot  a  handsome  Riwakd  fo«,  thi  Pilot  who  oivu  thb  fust  oood 
AccooHf  or  h»r;— How  that  may  be,  we  cannot  fcr  f<r/i<iji  determine  i  But' all  agree,  that  Ta»  and 
FeATMcas  will  be  his  .Portion,  who  piloti  her  into  this  Harbour,. ,  And  we  will  anfwer  for  ourfelves,  that, 
•hoerer  u  commicicd  to  us,  a$  to  Offender  againft  the  Righu  of  ^imtriM,  will  experience  the  uunoft  Ex- 
cnioo  of  our  Abilities)  at 

THE  COMMITTEE  FOR  TARRING  AND  FEATHERING. 

P.  S.  We  exptfk  you  will  fiirnilh  yourfclves  with  Copiei  of  the  foregoing  »nd  following  Letteri 
which  are  printed  for  this  Pnrpole,  that  the  Pilot  who  meew  with  Captain  jf/ra  may  favor  (uqj  with  a  Sight 
•f  ibcni. 

Ccmmllu  </  farini  tud  Futbtruf^. 

Capt.  A  YRES, 

Of  the  Shi»  P  0  L  L  T^    on  a  Voyage  from  Ltndon  to  PbilaJeJpbia, 
S  I  R. 

WEare  informed  that  you  hive,  Impridently,  taken  Charge  of  a  Quantity  of  Tea  i  which  ha»  been  feni 
out  by  the  inu.s  Company,  imJtrltf  Ji(/fittj  ef  tbt  M/mftry,  as  a  Trial  of /ffwr/^J*  Virtue  and  Ke- 
Ibluuon. 

Now,  at  four  Cargo,  on  your  Arrival  here,  will  moll  afliiredly  bring  you  into  hot  water)  and  tt  you 
•re  perhaps  a  Stranger  It  tbe'i  Paris,  we  have  concluded  to  advife  you  of  the  prefent  Situation  of  ASain  in 
PbilaJtlfbit--thic,  taking  Time  by  the  Forflock,  you  may  ftop  thort  in  your  dangerous  Errand — fecure 
your  Ship  againft  the  Raits  of  comboftible  Matter  which  may  be  fet  on  Fire,  and  turned  loofe  againft  herj 
and  , more  than  all  this,  that  you  may  preferVe  your  own  Perfoo,  from  the  Pitch  and  Feathers  that  are  pre- 
pared  for  vou. 

In  the  firft  Place,  we  muft  tell  you,  that  the  Pim/yhaiiimj  are,  /««  Mm,  paSionatcly  fond  of  Freedom) 
the  Birthright  oSAmrricam  t  and  at  all  Events  arc  determined  to  enjoy  it. 

That  they  Cncerely  believe,  no  Power  on  the  Face  of  the  Earth  bai  a  Right  to  tax  them  without  thor 
Coofenc. 

.That  in  their  Opinion,  the  Tea  in  your  Cuftody  is  difigtied  by  the  Miniftry  to  enforce  fucb  a  Tax, 
which  they  will  untloubicdiy  oppofc)  and  in  fb  doing,  give  you  every  polCble  Obilruftion. 

We  are  nominated  to  a  very  difagrceable,  but  tvecelTary  Service..-—  To  our  Care  are  committed  all 
Oficnders  againft  the  Rights  dt  Aturica )  and  haplcls  is  he,  whofe  evil  Dcftiny  has  doomed  bim  to  fuScr  at 
•tir  Hands. 

Yoo  are  fent  out  on  a  diabolical  Service)  and  if  you  are  lb  foolifii  and  ohftinate  at  to  complcit  your 
Voyage )  by  bringing  your  Ship  to  Anchor  in  fhis  Port)  yoo  may  run  fuch  a  Gauntlet,  as  will  induce  you, 
in  your  laft  Moments,  molt  heartily  to  curfc  thole  who  have  made  you  the  Dupe  ot  their  Avarice  and 
Ambition. 

What  think  you  Captain,  of  a  Halter  around  your  Neck— -ten  Gallons  ot  liquid  Tar  decanted  on  your 
Pate — with  the  Feathers  of  a  dozen  wild  Geefc  laid  over  that  to  enliven  your  Ajipcarante  ? 

Only  think  ferioufly  of  this — and  6y  to  the  Place  from  whence  you  came — fly  without  HeCtatioa — 
•hhout  the  Formality  of  a  Pioteft— -and  above  all.  Captain  yAr«  fet  us  advife  you  to  By  without  the 
wik)  Geefe  Fcathen. 

Your  Friends  /»  fervi 
rUUJtI/bit,  Nm.  a;,  177^  THE  COMMITTEE  ti  hftrt  fiifrnhf 


96 


The    Revolution 

trustees  were  either  Germans,  belonging  to  one  or 
another  of  the  sects  which  remained  neutral  in  strife  ; 
or  Quakers,  whose  cardinal  principle  was  to  be  men  of 
peace.  To  these,  then,  the  spirit  of  the  times  was 
not  a  thing  that  made  for  what  they  held  dear.  It 
did  not  concern  either — at  first.  Later,  we  find 
some  of  the  Quakers  taking  up  arms. 

That  times  of  apprehension  and  unrest  such  as 
these  were  should  not  have  reacted  upon  an  educational 
institution  that  was  local  merely  in  name  is,  of  course, 
incomprehensible.  It  was  apparent  to  many  far  seeing 
persons  that  a  storm  was  on  the  way.  When  it  was  to 
break,  and  whom  it  would  envelope  were  questions 
that  were  left  to  time  to  answer.  The  first  intimation 
of  serious  consequences  was  felt  in  the  year  1773,  when 
the  tea  ship  Polly  arrived  in  the  Delaware. 

When,  about  the  year  1772,  it  was  decided  that  a 
bell  was  needed  for  the  empty  belfry,  Thomas  Whar- 
ton, who  had  large  commercial  interests  in  England, 
seems  to  have  been  entrusted  with  the  mission.  He 
was  no  longer  a  trustee,  having  retired  in  the  year 
1766.  His  brother,  Samuel,  who  also  had  been  on  the 
board,  was  in  Europe,  giving  personal  attention  to 
the  firm's  business.  Thomas  Wharton  at  the  same 
time  ordered  a  "  chariot "  to  be  made  for  him  in 
England.  Both  the  bell  for  the  Germantown  Union 
School  and  Thomas  Wharton's  chariot  were,  then,  in 
the  hold  of  the  tea  ship  Polly,  which  Captain  Ayres 
was  bringing  to  Philadelphia.  The  Polly  never 
reached  Philadelphia,  her  master  having  concluded 
that  discretion  on  his  part  would  save  him  a  painful 
experience.     In  September  of  the  year  1773,  a  circular 

97 


A  History   of  The  Ge rmantown  Academy 

was  issued  by  "The  Committee  of  Tarring  and  Feath- 
ering," to  the  Delaware  Pilots,  requesting  them  to 
advise  the  commander  of  the  Polly  not  to  attempt  to 
land  his  cargo  of  taxed  tea  at  Philadelphia.  It  was 
not  until  Christmas  Day  of  that  year  that  the  Polly 
arrived  at  Chester.  Subsequently  she  anchored  off 
Gloucester,  and  there  a  committee  waited  on  Captain 
Ayres  and  invited  him  to  accompany  them  to  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  could  see  for  himself  how  strong 
and  determined  was  the  opposition  to  the  landing  of 
his  cargo.  He  visited  the  city ;  was  present  at  a 
meeting  in  the  State  House  yard  and  decided  to 
return  to  England.  This  determination  most  proba- 
bly was  reached  after  a  conference  with  Thomas 
Wharton,  who  was  the  consignee.  Wharton  did  not 
believe  in  the  attitude  of  the  people,  but  he  saw  that 
the  only  thing  to  do  was  to  turn  the  Polly  back,  and 
the  ship's  prow  was  turned  east  again  on  December 
27th.  This  caused  him  many  a  pang,  for  he  was  long- 
ing for  his  "chariot,"  "which,"  he  wrote,  "though  it 
might  be  fit  to  visit  Pine  Street  meeting  in,  must  once 
more  be  landed  in  Brittain,  and  thereby  share  the  fate 
of  every  other  article  on  board  the  ship."  And  for 
the  same  reason  the  belfry  of  the  schoolhouse  was 
empty  for  ten  years  longer,  when,  the  war  being  at  an 
end,  both  chariot  and  bell  were  brought  to  this 
country  again. 

Thomas  Dungan,  who  had  been  elected  succes- 
sor to  Downey,  on  April  5,  1774,  as  master  of  the 
English  school,  was  probably  about  thirty  years  of  age 
at  that  time.  He  had  received  his  collegiate  education 
in  the  College  and  Academy  of  Philadelphia,  which 

98 


The    Revolution 

institution  he  entered  as  a  student  in  1762.  Two  years 
later  we  find  him  employed  there  as  a  tutor,  and  in 
1766  he  was  appointed  Professor  of  Mathematics, 
holding  this  position  until  he  came  to  Germantown. 
He  came  well  recommended  and  appears  to  have  been 
known  to  some  of  the  trustees.  Early  in  the  year 
1777  it  became  evident  that  Philadelphia  was  in  peril 
of  capture  by  the  British  troops.  The  battles  of 
Trenton  and  Princeton  delayed  this  event,  but  at  the 
same  time,  if  anything,  emphasized  the  imminence  of 
this  campaign.  The  militia  companies  in  Pennsyl- 
vania were  called  upon  to  report  to  the  Committee 
of  Safety,  and  for  the  first  time  since  the  beginning 
of  the  war,  the  inhabitants  of  the  state  began  to  feel 
the  efifects  of  the  struggle  with  invaders. 

Dungan  was  one  of  those  young  men  who  responded 
to  his  country's  call.  The  records  of  the  Pennsylvania 
line  regiments  show  that  he  was  Paymaster  of  the 
1 2th  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  when  those  troops  were 
at  Bound  Brook,  on  April  29,  1777.  He  was  an 
ensign  when  he  was  transferred  to  the  6th  Regiment, 
which  was  in  the  same  Division  of  the  Continental 
army,  on  July  i,  1778.  On  September  ist,  of  the  same 
year,  he  was  Paymaster  of  this  regiment,  holding  that 
office  until  January  i,  1783,  when  he  was  transferred 
to  the  2nd  Regiment,  and  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy. 
While  he  was  in  the  12th  regiment,  that  body  was 
engaged  in  the  battles  of  Brandywine,  Germantown 
and  Monmouth,  and  it  is  interesting  to  speculate  upon 
his  feelings  when  he  was  fighting  in  the  fields,  and 
along  the  Main  Street  of  Germantown,  not  far  from 
the  school  in  which  he  had  spent  his  recent  years. 

99 


A  History  of  The  G e rmantown  Academy 

Elected,  like  his  predecessor,  for  one  year,  but  at 
a  salary  of  £Go  together  with  the  proceeds  of  a  night 
school,  and  the  privilege  of  taking  such  boarders  as 
might  oflFer,  Dungan  succeeded  in  reviving  interest  in 
the  school.  The  cheap  rates  of  tuition  may  have  also 
been  a  factor  in  this  success,  for  we  learn  that  the 
English  master  was  to  collect  the  tuition  at  the  rate  of 
5  shillings  a  quarter  for  those  who  "  read  and  spell," 
7s.  6d.  for  those  who  "  write  and  cypher,"  and  such 
sums  as  he  could  bargain  for  in  the  case  of  those  who 
took  "  mathematics  or  Latin."  The  master,  however, 
was  guaranteed  the  £60  a  year  by  the  trustees,  and 
they  very  generously  volunteered  their  assistance  in 
the  collection  from  delinquents. 

Four  months  after  he  took  charge  Dungan  reported 
57  pupils  in  his  department,  but  in  February,  1775, 
his  list  contained  only  43  pupils  who  had  paid  their 
tuition,  and  six  who  had  paid  and  had  left  the  school. 
Yet,  he  was  so  well  pleased  with  his  accomplishment 
that  he  ofiFered  to  take  the  school  for  the  next  year  at 
his  own  risk,  and  make  what  he  could  of  it. 

But  the  disturbed  state  of  the  country  daily  became 
more  paralysing.  So  far  there  had  been  only  oratory 
and  resolutions  to  meet  the  Acts  of  Parliament ;  yet 
even  this  was  disquieting,  for  no  one  knew  where  the 
end  would  be.  In  April,  1775,  expresses  that  had 
ridden  day  and  night,  crossing  swollen  rivers,  forging 
through  muddy  roads,  arrived  in  Philadelphia  with 
news  of  the  first  conflict.  The  Bostonians  were  fired 
upon  by  the  King's  forces  at  Lexington,  and  the  time 
for  forceful  action  had  arrived.  In  Germantown,  as 
well  as  in  every  other  town  and  village  in  the  country 

100 


The   Revolution 

that  had  heard  the  news,  steps  were  immediately  taken 
to  express  its  opinion  of  the  new  turn  given  to  events. 
The  freeholders  advertised  a  meeting  to  be  held  in  the 
Germantown  Union  School  "on  Monday  the  First 
Day  of  May  next,  at  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  to 
enter  on  sych  Measures  as  may  seem  most  proper  in 
the  present  Emergency." 

To  the  Inhabitants  (j/*  Germantown. 

WHERE  AS  it  appears  from  repeated  Expreffes,  that  have  ariv- 
ed  at  Philadelphia,  that  the  Kings  Forces  and  the  Boftonians 
were  in  actual  En^gement  which  makes  it  highly  incumbent 
fbrPerfons  who  have  any  Regard  for  their  Country,  their  Liberty  and 
Property,  to  meet  and  enter  on  fuch  Meafures  as  may  be  a  Means  to 
avert  the  impending  Ruin  that  threatens  our  Country,  and  it  is  hoped 
that  every  Friend  to  America,  Freeholders  and  others,  will  attend  at 
the  Union  School-houfe  in  faid  Town,  on  Monday  the  Firft  Day  of 
May  next,  at  3  o'Clock  in  the  Afternoon,  to  enter  on  fuch  Meafures 
as  may  feem  mofl  proper  in  the  prefent  Emergency. 
Germarttownj  April  the  zyth,  1775. 


From  this  advertisement  it  may  be  seen  that  the 
schoolhouse,  in  that  early  period,  was  regarded  almost 
as  a  town  hall.  When  it  was  built  the  freeholders  of 
the  town  seem  to  have  regarded  it  as  a  hall  of  record 
also,  for  in  the  "Agreements  and  Concessions,"  not 
the  fundamental  ones,  but  those  subsequently  passed 
and  printed,  it  is  pointed  out  as  one  of  the  duties  of 
the  treasurer  that  "  he  shall  keep  the  ancient  charter 
granted  by  William  Penn,  together  with  the  deed  of 
the  Public  Ground  at  the  Market  House,  and  also  all 
the  public  papers  belonging  to  said  town." 

In  August,  1775,  the  trustees  directed  a  commit- 
tee consisting  of  Christopher  Sauer,  John  Jones  and 

lOI 


A  History  of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

Israel  Pemberton  to  "  inspect  the  little  deeds  of  the 
Schoolhouse  lot,  the  original  subscription  papers,  and 
such  other  papers  or  books  as  are  in  the  hands  or  care 
of  Thos.  Rose,  belonging  to  this  community,  and  to 
report  at  the  next  meeting  whether  any  reconveyance 
is  necessary,  as  part  of  the  trustees  first  named  are 
deceased,  or  whether  anything  appears  necessary  to  be 
done  respecting  the  subscription  papers,  &c.,  &c."  It 
cannot  be  learned  from  the  minutes  whether  this  com- 
mittee ever  reported,  although  it  is  to  be  presumed 
they  did  so. 

Another  attempt  to  help  the  school  was  made.  May 
1 6,  1776,  when  Mary  Clinch  was  granted  permission 
to  keep  a  girls'  school.  While  the  records  are  silent 
as  to  the  fate  of  this  enterprise,  it  probably  followed 
Margaret  Thomas's  experiment  into  failure  and 
oblivion. 

The  minute  or  record  of  the  meeting  that  should 
have  been  held  on  August  15,  1776,  gives  an  intima- 
tion that  the  war  was  felt  in  Germantown.  "  By  reason 
of  the  troublous  times,"  it  relates,  "  and  other  matters 
interfering,  none  of  the  Trustees  did  meet  according 
to  the  notice  given  by  the  Clerk  as  usual."  Difficulties 
increased,  and  there  was  no  quorum  to  transact  busi- 
ness at  any  regular  meeting  of  the  board  until  July  22, 
1777,  when  the  post  of  English  master  was  temporarily 
filled  by  the  appointment  of  George  Murray,  of  New 
York,  who  was  recommended  by  Daniel  Stiles  as  quali- 
fied to  teach  "  the  Mathematics  and  the  English  and 
the  Greek  languages."  Murray  seems  to  have  merely 
been  permitted  to  conduct  the  school,  and  to  use  part 
of  the  schoolhouse  as  a  dwelling,  until  the  return  of 

102 


The   Revolution 

Dungan,  who  had  "been  for  some  months  past  engaged 
in  pubHc  employment  in  the  American  Army,  which 
he  is  not  likely  soon  to  leave." 

In  the  minute  of  the  recorded  meeting  of  the  board 
it  is  seen  that  the  realities  of  war  at  last  had  made 
themselves  felt.  Their  first  appearance  is  carefully 
related  in  the  minute  dated  August  12,  1777: 

"The  German  Master  informed  some  of  the 
Trustees  that  an  officer  from  the  Army  had  called 
upon  and  informed  him  that  he  had  orders  to  bring 
and  lodge  some  of  the  sick  soldiers  from  Gen'l 
Washington's  Army  in  the  Germantown  Union  School, 
the  next  day;  and,  as  the  English  School,  which  was  to 
begin  soon,  would  not  only  thereby  be  interrupted, 
but  also  the  German  School  had  been  entirely  broken 
up,  the  Trustees  thought  it  their  duty  to  oppose  it  as 
much  as  lays  in  their  power.  A  Board  of  Trustees  being 
now  called  together  and  an  Officer  from  the  Army 
present  he  agreed  to  lodge  the  said  sick  from  the 
Army  in  the  Poor  House  of  this  Town,  if  they  would 
give  him  leave,  and  to  remove  the  poor  to  any  other 
convenient  House  for  a  short  time.  The  Board 
ordered  to  call  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  to  know 
the  number  of  the  Poor  and  the  state  of  the  Poor 
House;  whereupon  it  was  agreed  by  a  number  of  the 
Freeholders,  that  a  Town  Meeting  of  the  Freeholders 
should  be  called  together  by  the  said  Overseers;  and 
an  advertisement  being  set  up  and  given  to  the  Cryer 
Jno.  Nice,  to  call  on  the  inhabitants  to  meet  this  after- 
noon at  2  or  3  o'clock,  in  order  to  consider  of  some 
other  House  or  place  for  the  said  sick  soldiers.  A 
great     number     of     the     said    Freeholders    meeting 

103 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

according  to  notice  given  at  the  said  School  House, 
but  as  they  differed  in  their  opinion  and  sentiments  a 
great  many  went  away  without  giving  in  their  vote. 

"  Israel  Pemberton  went  the  next  day  to  Philadel- 
phia to  consult  with  President,  Mr.  Hancock,  and  the 
sick  soldiers  were  next  day  brought  from  the  Army  to 
the  Hospital  in  Philadelphia  without  giving  any  more 
trouble  to  the  inhabitants  of  Germantown." 

Six  weeks  later  the  inhabitants  of  Germantown 
involuntarily  entertained  an  army  not  so  friendly,  for 
on  September  25,  1777,  General  Howe's  troops,  fresh 
from  victory  over  the  American  army  at  Brandywine, 
entered  the  town,  and  threw  its  lines  from  the  Schuyl- 
kill River,  along  the  line  of  School  House  Lane,  to 
Old  York  Road.  The  right  of  the  camp  of  the  Third 
Brigade  rested  near  the  schoolhouse.  It  is  probable, 
thus,  that  from  the  beginning  of  the  encampment  the 
British  soldiers  made  some  use  of  the  schoolhouse  and, 
according  to  tradition,  their  officers  played  in  the 
grounds  the  first  game  of  cricket  played  in  America. 
After  the  battle  on  the  morning  of  October  4,  1777, 
they  carried  some  of  their  wounded  there,  and  it  was 
related  by  John  Ashmead,  who  was  a  boy  at  the  time, 
that  six  of  the  King's  soldiers  were  buried  about 
twenty  feet  to  the  east  of  the  back  part  of  the  school- 
house  grounds,  in  what  was  formerly  the  end  of 
Deshler's  lot.  The  Main  Street  being  the  general 
path  of  the  battle,  although  it  waxed  hot  and  was 
stubbornly  contested  through  the  fields  and  orchards, 
as  well  as  along  some  of  the  principal  roads  across  the 
town,  the  schoolhouse  escaped  serious  injury.  The 
weathervane  on    the    belfry   still   bears   the  marks  of 

104 


The   Revolution 

bullets,  however,  and  the  whole  building  was  rather 
dilapidated  from  want  of  repair  and  wanton  breakage 
after  the  war  was  over. 

From  August  of  that  year  there  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  another  meeting  of  the  trustees  until  the 
election  in  May,  1778.  The  schoolmaster  from  New 
York,  if,  indeed,  he  served  in  the  position,  soon  found 
nothing  to  do.  Even  the  German  master  had  to  dis- 
continue his  department,  for  not  only  was  the  country 
at  war,  but  the  invading  army  had  arrived.  The 
peaceful  little  town  of  Germantown  must  have  been  so 
much  dazed  and  terrified  by  the  battle,  that  time  was 
necessary  for  the  inhabitants  to  regain  their  habitual 
composure.  As  for  the  German  master,  Becker,  he 
was  now  an  old  man,  his  tranquil  life  shaken,  and  his 
school  disbanded.  It  was  too  late  to  begin  over  again, 
so  he  seems  to  have  unostentatiously,  as  usual,  retired 
from  active  life. 

On  October  14,  1778,  there  was  a  meeting  of  the 
trustees,  which  has  generally  been  held  to  have  been 
the  last  one  until  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  From 
the  minutes  of  this  meeting  it  is  learned  that  "On 
account  of  the  distressed  times  no  German  and  Eng- 
lish School  has  been  kept  this  good  while."  It  is  all 
too  evident  that  the  school  was  without  masters,  and 
probably  without  support.  The  English  master, 
Dungan,  was  in  the  army;  his  successor,  Murray,  per- 
haps never  took  charge,  and  if  he  did  his  occupation 
was  but  temporary ;  the  girls'  school  does  not  appear 
to  have  prospered,  and  the  German  master,  weighted 
with  years,  and  disturbed  by  the  events  of  the  last  few 
months,  had  retired.   But  John  Augustus  Edert,  "who 

105 


A  History   of  The  G  erman  town  Academy 

for  some  time  kept  school  in  the  country,  offered  his 
services,"  as  German  master.  The  board  was  willing  to 
encourage  him,  and  agreed  to  let  him  have  the  buildings 
where  Becker  Hved  and  half  the  schoolhouse  to  keep 
his  German  school,  "and  to  teach  reading,  writing  and 
arithmetic  at  what  price  he  can  agree  with  the  parents 
or  masters  of  the  scholars."  Just  what  practical  use 
was  made  of  this  generous  offer  is  unknown,  and 
neither  can  any  illumination  be  thrown  on  the  life  of 
the  school  during  the  next  five  years. 

From  the  records  of  the  board  it  is  apparent  that 
attempts  were  made  for  several  months  to  transact 
business,  but  owing  to  the  war,  there  never  could  be 
gotten  together  a  sufficient  number  of  trustees  to 
make  a  quorum.  The  theory  has  been  advanced  that 
the  trustees  and  the  contributors  maintained  the 
organization  throughout  the  stormy  period,  but  it  is 
only  a  belief  that  this  was  the  case,  nothing  like  proof 
of  it  having  been  advanced.  John  F.  Watson,  the 
annalist,  notes  that  he  had  made  inquiries  in  order  to 
discover  if  there  ever  existed  any  minute  book  between 
the  one  just  quoted,  whose  last  entry  is  under  date  of 
October  14,  1778,  and  the  minute  book  whose  first 
entry  bears  the  date  of  November  i,  1784.  He  could 
not  find  that  there  were  any  records  of  the  intervening 
years,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  school  was 
given  up  and  no  minutes  attempted  during  those 
years. 


106 


CHAPTER  VI 
"The  Public  School  of  Germantown,"  1784-1793 

^  S  soon  as  the  country  was  again  at  peace 
y^k  the  old  supporters  of  the  school  began  its 
i^^^  reorganization.  Again  they  attempted, 
A  ^^,  this  time  successfully,  to  have  the  school 
incorporated.  If  before  it  was  opposition  from  Dr. 
William  Smith  and  the  College  and  Academy  of 
Philadelphia  that  prevented  the  Germantown  Union 
School  from  securing  its  charter  they  were  now  too 
busy,  and  too  weak  an  influence,  with  their  own  affairs 
to  offer  effective  opposition.  Provost  Smith,  too,  had 
applied  for  a  charter  in  the  year  1784,  but  the  minority, 
or  Constitutional  Party,  in  the  Assembly  prevented  the 
bill  from  passing,  by  the  simple  expedient  of  absenting 
themselves,  and  thus  preventing  a  quorum.  The 
Academy  did  not  receive  its  charter  until  1789, 
while  the  Germantown  Public  School  was  chartered 
September  15,  1784. 

The  first  section  of  the  charter  recites  the  history 
of  the  school,  gives  the  reasons  for  the  Act,  and 
quotes  Penn's  "  frame  of  Government,"  which  said, 
"  That  a  school  or  schools  shall  be  established  in  each 
county  by  the  Legislature."  In  the  second  section 
there  is  an  apology  for  the  failure  to  establish  these 
schools,  because  "  the  finances  of  this  State,  so  soon 
after  a  long  and  expensive  war,  are  not  in  a  condition 
(without  an  increase  of  taxes  already  heavy)  to  carry 
into  execution  these  constitutional  requirements ; " 
therefore,  it  became  "  highly  proper  to  promote  the 

107 


A  History  of  The   G ermantown   Academy 

laudable  attempt  of  the  petitioners."  Section  three 
declares  the  school  established  "  for  the  instruction  of 
youth  in  the  learned  and  foreign  languages,  reading 
and  writing  English,  the  mathematics  and  other  useful 
branches  of  literature." 

The  fourth  section  names  the  school,  "  The  Public 
School  of  Germantown,"  and  the  fifth  section  declares 
"  that  the  first  trustees  of  the  said  school  shall  consist 
of  the  following  named  persons,  viz.:  Henry  Hill, 
Samuel  Ashmead  and  Jacob  Rush,  Esquires;  the  Revs. 
Albert  Helfenstein  and  Frederick  Smith ;  John  Van- 
deren,  John  Bringhurst,  Joseph  Ferree,  Christian 
Snider,  James  Haslet,  Samuel  Mechlin,  Noah  Town- 
send,  George  Bringhurst,  Justus  Fox, William  Ashmead, 
David  Deshler,  Doctor  Jacob  Frederick,  Paul  Engle, 
John  Fry  and  Abraham  Rittenhouse."  It  will  be 
noticed  twenty  trustees  are  named  instead  of  the 
former  number,  thirteen.  These  were  established 
"  one  body  politic  ....  with  perpetual  succes- 
sion." Section  sixth  requires  the  trustees  "  to  meet 
on  the  first  Monday  of  November  next  .... 
and  at  least  once  in  every  year  afterward,"  and  consti- 
tutes "  seven  of  them  a  board  or  quorum,"  giving 
them,  among  other  things  named,  the  power  "of  elect- 
ing trustees  in  the  place  of  those  who  shall  resign 
their  offices  or  die." 

Section  seventh  declares  "  Persons  of  every  religious 
denomination  among  Christians  shall  be  capable  of 
being  elected  trustees ;  nor  shall  any  person,  either  as 
master,  tutor,  officer  or  pupil,  be  refused  admission 
for  his  conscientious  persuasion  in  matters  of  religion, 
provided  he  shall  demean  himself  in  a  sober,  orderly 

io8 


^^The   Public   School  of   Germantown^^ 

manner,  and  conform  to  the  rules  and  regulations  of 
said  school."  The  eighth  section  deals  with  the  gain- 
ing or  holding  of  property,  and  the  liberal  construc- 
tion of  the  constitution  of  the  school ;  and  the  ninth 
section  authorizes  the  transfer  of  all  the  property  and 
effects,  heretofore  belonging  to  the  school,  to  this 
Board  of  Trustees. 

The  school  appears  to  have  been  reopened  about 
this  time,  probably  with  George  Murray,  previously 
mentioned,  as  English  master,  and  John  Augustus 
Edert  as  master  of  the  German  school.  This  surmise 
is  founded  upon  the  fact  that  Murray  was  to  take 
charge  until  the  return  of  Thoman  Dungan  from  the 
army,  and  as  the  latter's  name  does  not  appear  as 
master  until  November  22,  1786,  his  substitute  is 
likely  to  have  acted  in  his  stead,  as  no  other  is  men- 
tioned. No  successor  to  Edert  appears  until  Septem- 
ber 16,  1788,  when  Jacob  Merkle  was  chosen  German 
master.  About  as  little  is  known  of  this  period  of 
reorganization  as  of  the  period  of  the  war  which  pre- 
ceded it.  But  this  period  once  crossed,  the  road  down 
to  the  present  time  is  fairly  good  traveling. 

Before  entering  upon  the  period  of  reorganization, 
a  hasty  glance  may  be  taken  at  the  men  who  were 
destined  to  bring  it  about.  A  few  of  the  names  we 
have  met  before  in  the  earlier  pages.  Samuel  Ashmead 
had  been  a  trustee  since  the  year  1775;  John  Van- 
deren  had  held  a  like  office  many  times  since  the  year 
1763;  John  Bringhurst  was  one  of  the  original  mana- 
gers of  buildings,  and  had  been  elected  trustee  sev- 
eral times  since  the  year  1770;  George  Bringhurst, 
since  the  year  1776,  had  been  on  the  board;    Justus 

109 


A  History  of  The    Germantown  Academy 

Fox  was  first  elected  trustee  in  1772,  and  several 
times  re-elected  ;  William  Ashmead  had  been  continu- 
ously a  trustee  since  the  year  1775,  and  when  he 
retired  in  18 10,  had  served  for  twenty-eight  years; 
David  Deshler,  who  seems  to  have  made  an  indelible 
impression  upon  local  legends  by  his  exquisite  attire, 
had  been  one  of  the  original  board,  but  had  not  been 
active  in  the  school  for  twenty  years  ;  Paul  Engle  had 
several  times  served  as  trustee  since  1764. 

But  more  than  half  the  new  board  were  new  to 
that  body.  The  two  clergymen — the  Rev.  J.  C. 
Albertus  Helfenstein  and  the  Rev.  John  Frederick 
Schmidt  (here  written  Smith),  were  connected  with 
Germantown  churches.  The  former  had  twice  been 
minister  of  the  German  Reformed  Church,  and  In  that 
capacity  had  a  hand  in  starting  what  is  now  known  as 
the  Frankford  Presbyterian  Church.  He  was  born  in 
the  Palatinate,  and  while  on  his  way  to  this  country 
encountered  so  violent  a  storm  at  sea  that  he  vowed 
to  consecrate  himself  to  the  service  of  God.  During 
the  Revolution  he  was  pastor  of  the  Germantown 
Church.  He  died  of  consumption  in  the  year  1789. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Schmidt,  during  the  war  period,  was 
pastor  of  St.  Michael's  Lutheran  Church  in  German- 
town,  and  in  the  year  1786  removed  to  Philadelphia. 

Henry  Hill  was  the  builder  of  the  beautiful  mansion 
named  Carlton  on  Queen  Lane,  which  on  two  oc- 
casions Washington  is  said  to  have  occupied  as  his 
headquarters.  That  he  was  deeply  interested  in 
education  is  further  shown  by  his  service  as  a  trustee 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  from  1789  to  1791. 
Jacob    Rush   was    President  Judge    of   the  Court   of 

no 


The    Public    School   of   German  tow  n^^ 

Common  Pleas  in  Philadelphia  County.  "  Squire  " 
Joseph  Ferree  was  of  French  Huguenot  descent,  and 
before  the  Revolution  was  a  member  of  the  Assembly 
from  Lancaster  county,  in  1774  becoming  a  member  of 
the  County  Committee.  The  next  year  he  was  in 
Germantown,  where  he  and  his  wife,  who  was  a 
daughter  of  James  Delaplaine,  occupied  the  house 
known  as  Delaplaine  House.  In  1776  he  was  cus- 
todian of  the  Government  stores  and  was  one  of 
the  committee  deputed  to  collect  window  and  clock 
weights  and  sundry  other  odd  pieces  of  lead  in 
Germantown  from  which  to  make  ammunition  for  the 
American  army.  Samuel  Mechlin  owned  a  house  at 
what  is  now  4840  Main  Street,  which  the  British  used 
as  a  hospital  during  part  of  their  stay  in  the  town  after 
the  battle.  Noah  Townsend  was  a  cabinet  maker  who 
lived  at  what  is  now  5203-5  Main  Street.  John  Fry 
was  the  eldest  son  of  Johannes  Frey,  who  came  from 
Germany  at  an  early  date,  and  was  a  storekeeper  at 
what  is  now  5273  Main  Street,  a  building  still  known 
locally  as  Fry  house.  Abraham  Rittenhouse  had  a 
fulling  mill  in  Roxborough,  and  was  a  near  relative  of 
David  Rittenhouse.  Of  Dr.  Jacob  Frealich,  or  Fraley, 
not  much  can  now  be  learned,  and  the  same  statement 
is  true  of  James  Haslet.  That  Dr.  Fraley  was  a 
substantial  person  is  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  he 
remained  on  the  board  for  ten  years.  Haslet,  too,  was 
a  trustee  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1790. 

At  the  first  meeting  under  the  charter,  held  on 
November  i,  1784,  the  board  elected  Christian  Snyder, 
treasurer,  and  Joseph  Ferree,  secretary,  as  the  clerk 
was  now  termed.     The  board  at  the  same  meeting  ap- 

III 


A  History    of  The  Germantown  Academy 

pointed  the  Rev.  Frederick  Smith,  Henry  Hill  and 
Justus  Fox  a  committee  "  to  invent  a  Seal  for  the  use 
of  said  School  and  to  report  thereon  to  the  next  meet- 
ing." The  committee  was  ready  at  the  meeting  on 
November  29th  to  produce  a  sketch  of  the  seal,  and  the 
committee,  with  Dr.  Jacob  Fraley,  were  authorized  to 
have  it  executed  "  in  a  complete  manner."  More  time 
seems  to  have  been  lost  in  carrying  out  this  apparently 
simple  order  than  was  consumed  in  inventing  the 
design,  but  there  were  in  this  country  at  the  same  time 
comparatively  few  men  who  could  make  such  a  seal, 
and  this  may  be  the  reason  why,  at  a  meeting  held  in 
the  following  May,  or  six  months  later,  we  read  that 
the  committee  was  appointed  to  procure  a  seal  and 
have  it  executed  for  the  sum  of  ten  dollars,  "  and  do 
likewise  procure  a  seal  press  for  the  same." 

There  is  uncertainty  about  the  condition  of  the 
school  itself  during  this  period  of  reorganization,  and 
it  may  not  have  been  open  for  some  time  after  the 
charter  was  obtained.  This  view,  however,  is  only 
given  as  a  surmise,  but  as  has  already  been  mentioned, 
unless  the  German  master  Edert,  and  the  English 
master  Murray — about  whose  connection  with  the 
school  little  can  be  said  upon  authority — continued, 
there  were  no  masters  that  we  know  of  for  the  school 
during  this  period.  Becker,  who  appears  to  have 
retired  when  the  British  entered  Germantown,  had 
died  in  the  year  1783,  and  must  be  left  out  of  any 
reckoning. 

This  view  appears  to  be  all  the  more  likely  from 
the  fact  that  at  the  first  meeting,  in  November,  1784, 
a  committee,  consisting  of  Samuel  Ashmead,  Samuel 

112 


^^The    Public    School   of   Germantown^^ 

Mechlin  and  Joseph  Ferree,  was  appointed  to  take  an 
inventory  of  the  property  belonging  to  the  "late 
School,"  in  order  that  the  new  trustees  might  get 
possession  of  it,  including  some  subscriptions  due  the 
former  school.  These  papers  are  said  to  have  been 
found  safe  in  "a  walnut  box"  in  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Ferree,  which  would  indicate  that  he  had  been  the 
treasurer,  although  there  is  other  evidence  that  August 
Neiser,  the  clockmaker,  was  treasurer  during  the  war 
period. 

Early  in  the  year  1785  steps  were  taken  to  put  on 
foot  a  subscription  for  the  benefit  of  the  school,  and 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Helfenstein,  Henry 
Hill,  Samuel  Ashmead  and  John  Bringhurst  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  draw  up  the  same  in  form 
"against  the  next  meeting."  Although  this  action 
was  taken  at  the  meeting  on  January  3,  1785,  it  was  not 
until  the  meeting  on  May  2nd  of  the  same  year  that 
the  committee  reported  that  they  had  performed  that 
service,  and  that  the  secretary  was  requested  to  have 
a  quire  of  good  writing  paper  "struck  off  in  the 
English  and  as  many  in  the  German  Language,  with 
all  convenient  expedition,  and  thereafter  distribute 
them  into  the  proper  hands  for  obtaining  subscrip- 
tions." This  plan,  as  will  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the 
wording  of  the  document,  was  designed  to  bring  about 
an  endowment  fund.  These  subscription  papers  con- 
tained the  following: 

"  Whereas,  certain  persons  in  Germantown  and  the 
city  and  county  of  Philadelphia,  several  years  ago, 
raised  a  sum  of  money  by  subscription  for  the 
purchasing    of    a    lot    in    Germantown,    and    thereon 

113 


WHERE  AS  eertain  Petfons  in  Gekuantown  and  ia  the. 
City  and  County  of  PHILADELPHIA,  feveral  Years  ^,  raifed 
a  Sum  of  Money  by  Subfcription  for  the  Purchafc  of  a  Lot  in  G  £  R» 
M  A  N  T  O  W  N,  and  thereon  erefted  a  Houfc,  in  which  are  kept "  two 
Schools  for  teaching  the  ENGLISH  and  GERMAN  Languages,  andtwoodier 
fmall  Tenements  for  the  Accomodation  of  two  School-Matters. 

AND  whereas  the  Affembly  in  the  Year  1784,  pafled  a  Law  incorporating  the 
JaidSchool,  by  the  Name  of  the  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  of  GERMANTOWN, 
and  appointing  certain  TRUSTEES  for  the  good  Government  of  the  fame.  Now 
the  faid  TRUSTEES,  anxious  to  promote  fo  ufefull  an  Inftitution;  have  Recotirfe 
to  the  Liberality  of  luch  Perfons  as  may  be  generotifly  diipofed  to  lupport  the  laudable 
Undertaking,  and  by  their  Subfcriptions  eftabliih  a  Fund,  the  Intereft  which  to  be  ap-^ 
plied  to  the  Purpoie  aforeiaid. 

WE  therefore,  the  Subfcribers,  defirous  to  hold  out  a  foftenng  Hand  to  the  rifing 
Seminary,  do  promife  to  pay  to  the  TRUSTEES  ofthe  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  of 
GERMANTOWN  or  their  Order  on  Demand,  the  Sum  we  have feverally  anex- 
cd  to  our  Names,  Referving  neverthelefe  at  our  Option  the  Payment  of  legal  lotereft 
annually,  until  it  may  fait  our  Conveoience  to  pay  the  principal  Sum  fubichbed. 


iS(  gewifie  ^perfonen  in  ©etmantaun  mi  ia  let  <Stat»t  utib  CTauntp  <Pi)tlaj 
tim^a  t)ot  etUcben  3af)ren  Duett)  Untcrfi^rcibuncj  tint  6umrtie  ©elee^ 
ju  (JtWufung  einer  «runt»:^ot  in  ©ennanraun,  (Uifbract)ten,  unD  Mt^ 
dof  fin  S)aug  cxbautett,  in  roefc^cm  jwo  ©tfculcn  jut  Gtlfrnurig  m  d^lU 
fHjen  unD  ©eutfc^cn  ©ptacbe  aeMtcn  wtim,  mi>  jido  anDcpe  tietne  2Bo()nuni 
gen  jop  'Scquemlic^tcit  t»er  bei^im  6t&ulmci|ler. 

Un^  M  lit  SriTemfctt)  im  3a&r  1784/  ein  ©cfe^  madjti,  feoDur*  befagie 
fetfeule,  unter bem  g^amen  bee  6ff5n  tli^feen  <5f^  u(c  in  ©ermantaun 
intotporitt  iritb,  unt>  geipiffc  Srufiic^  jur  2fufftit)t  barfibec  txftelt  wctbcn  J  2)a 
nun  DjebrfagtenXrufne^tPiinftfcen,  cine  fo  nupt^e  Stnflalt  m  befStbcrn,  un6 
m  an  foltbe  ^perfonen  tuenbcn,  bie  m<t)  U)m  ^repgebigfeit  unb  ©roptnutl) 
awrtgt  fct)rt  ntogen,  biefc^  tobcn^ttmrbige  Unterne^mcn  ju  mtetftiitim,  lJn^ 
Datd>  \i)te  ftei)tt)iaigc  23crfc0reibung  eincn  Junb  ju  ewic^ten,  ft)o»on  bie  3ni 
ft^ffen  ju  oiigcn  Swerf  angeroenbct  tcetben  foDen; 

<Bc  verfptctftcrt  rcit  Unterfc^ticfiene,  tie  tiit  gcneigt  ftnb  biefec  onge^enbea 
Q51iah5fd>ule  etne  ^ulfrcitfee^ant  ju  IcifiCn/  an  bie  Jnifiie^  bcr  6ffenf{it&en 
(5*ule  in  ©ctmontaun  obet  on  i^te  ^efeonmilc&tigmi,  nac^  ge^riget  SecW= 
tt»na>  bie  <5ummcn/  bie  iPitunfernOTamen  bepgefogt  fjaben,  3u  besaWett,  *tt 
tern  Oorbe^alt,  tit  gefcOma^igenSnttelTett  jd^tlit^  jttfcew^len/  bitfrt  ftt^fw 
mi  f(^<ten  mag  bievetfc^fiebene^amntimnneaBautragen. 


114 


^^The   Public   School  of   Germantown''^ 

erected  a  house  in  which  are  kept  two  schools  for 
teaching  the  English  and  German  languages,  and  two 
other  small  tenements  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
two  schools. 

"  And  whereas,  the  Assembly  in  the  year  1784  passed 
a  law  incorporating  the  said  school  by  the  name  of  the 
Public  School  of  Germantown,  and  appointing  certain 
trustees  for  the  good  government  of  the  same. — Now 
the  said  trustees,  anxious  to  promote  so  useful  an 
institution,  have  recourse  to  the  liberality  of  such 
persons  as  may  be  generously  disposed  to  support 
the  laudable  undertaking,  and  by  their  subscriptions 
establish  a  fund,  the  interest  of  which  to  be  applied 
to  the  purpose  aforesaid. 

"We  therefore,  the  subscribers,  desiring  to  hold 
out  a  fostering  hand  to  the  rising  seminary,  do  promise 
to  pay  to  the  Trustees  of  the  Public  School  of  German- 
town,  or  their  order,  on  demand,  the  sums  we  have 
severally  annexed  to  our  names;  reserving, nevertheless, 
at  our  option,  the  payment  of  legal  interest  annually, 
until  it  may  suit  our  convenience  to  pay  the  principal 
sum  subscribed." 

At  the  May  meeting,  in  the  year  1785,  the  rules 
and  regulations  which  had  been  used  for  the  old 
school  and  which  had  been  handed  over  to  a  committee, 
consisting  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Helfenstein,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Smith,  and  Messrs.  Hill,  Samuel  Ashmead  and  John 
Bringhurst,  for  revision,  were  reported  to  the  board, 
but  were  recommitted  to  another  committee  with 
instructions  to  amend  and  compare  the  rules  with 
those  of  the  former  school. 

In  a  very  short  time  there  developed  a  belief  that 

115 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

the  charter  did  not  cover  all  the  ground  necessary  to 
the  act  of  incorporation,  and  a  committee  consisting 
of  the  two  clergymen,  already  mentioned,  Mr,  Hill, 
Mr.  Fox  and  Mr,  Mechlin,  were  appointed  to  inquire 
if  there  was  any  "  occasion  to  petition  the  Assembly 
for  further  powers  to  be  vested  in  the  corporation." 
This  committee  made  a  report  upon  which  the  Assem- 
bly in  a  supplemental  Act,  dated  September  6th,  1786, 
granted  the  relief  asked.  This  was  in  the  main  a 
restoration  of  the  plan  of  government  of  the  former 
school.  In  the  first  section  of  the  act  it  is  explained 
that  the  purpose  of  the  law  is  to  revive  some  of  the 
regulations  of  the  "Union  School;"  the  second  sec- 
tion provides  eight  "  additions,  alterations  and  amend- 
ments of  the  said  constitution  of  the  said  incorporated 
school."  The  first  of  these  is  that  a  person  having 
paid  "  forty  shillings,  gold  or  silver  money  of  Penn- 
sylvania," to  further  the  interests  of  the  school,  "  shall 
be  entitled  to  vote  for  the  election  of  trustees."  The 
second  section  arranges  them  in  three  classes,  and  pro- 
vides for  one  of  these  to  be  chosen  each  year.  The  third 
section  provides  that  the  first  Monday  in  May  in  every 
year  shall  be  the  time,  and  the  schoolhouse  the  place,  of 
holding  the  election.  The  fourth  section  allows  mem- 
bers to  be  re-elected  or  reappointed.  The  fifth  is, 
"Vacancies  occasioned  by  death  or  resignation  may  be 
filled  by  appointment  of  the  other  trustees."  The 
sixth  is,  "  There  shall  be  at  least  one  meeting  of  trus- 
tees every  year,  and  they  shall  elect  a  president,  treas- 
urer and  secretary."  The  seventh  is,  "  Five  trustees 
assembled  on  due  notice  shall  constitute  a  '  board  or 
quorum  ;'  notices  must  state  when  a  vacancy  is  to  be 

116 


''''The    Public    School   of   Germ  ant  own'''' 

filled."  The  eighth  is,  "  The  two  most  commodious 
rooms  of  the  schoolhouse  shall  be  forever  appropriated 
to  the  keeping  an  English  and  German  School,"  which 
shall  have  equal  privileges. 

At  the  time  the  trustees  appealed  to  the  Legislature 
to  grant  them  the  powers  they  desired,  and  which  they 
obtained  in  this  supplemental  charter,  they  asked  for 
"  a  grant  of  lands  appropriated  for  the  support  of 
public  schools  in  this  State,  and  such  other  assistance 
as  can  be  obtained."  Under  the  new  regime  it  will  be 
noticed  a  more  rigorous,  aggressive  and  progressive 
policy  was  pursued  than  had  been  characteristic  of  the 
earlier  boards.  The  war  was  at  an  end  ;  a  new  nation 
had  been  born  and  a  new  order  of  things  prevailed. 
It  was  a  period  of  great  promise  for  the  future  and, 
in  spite  of  the  pessimism  that  was  evident  in  some 
quarters,  the  general  belief  in  the  stability  of  the 
United  States  was  shared  by  the  men  who  were  striving 
to  recreate  in  Germantown  an  educational  institution 
which  would  be  permanent  and  prosperous.  An 
intimation  of  this  is  given  in  the  plan  for  an  endow- 
ment fund,  without  which  few,  if  any,  educational 
enterprises  ever  attain  a  venerable  age.  The  truth  of 
this  statement  was  as  clearly  recognized  by  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Public  School  of  Germantown  in  1785  as 
it  is  by  the  trustees  of  any  great  university  today. 
The  endowment  fund,  whether  through  the  deprecia- 
tion of  currency,  which  was  felt  by  everybody,  or 
through  the  novelty  of  the  appeal  to  persons  of  that 
time,  did  not  find  a  ready  response.  The  whole 
country  then  did  not  possess  a  millionaire,  although 
Philadelphia  was   renowned   for    its   rich   men.      The 

117 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

trustees  failing  in  the  first  plan  then  flew  to  the 
Assembly  for  aid.  In  this,  in  a  measure,  they  were 
successful.  The  Assembly  was  ready  to  make  the 
grant,  "  providing  the  corporation  can  defray  the 
expenses"  of  surveying  the  land  that  is,  and  putting  it 
in  the  market.  Reasonable  as  these  conditions  appear, 
they  proved  impossible  with  the  smallness  of  the  funds 
in  the  school's  possession,  and  the  board  was  com- 
pelled to  decline  the  gift  they  previously  had  sought. 
They  did  receive  some  additions  to  their  fund 
within  the  next  few  years.  Mrs.  Hill,  wife  of  the 
president  of  the  board,  in  1788  left  a  bequest  of  ;^I50 
which  was  to  be  used  for  educating  the  children  of  the 
poor.  The  "Poor  Fund,"  as  Mrs.  Hill's  bequest 
was  known,  was  worth  ^36  more  in  1792,  for  there  had 
been  accumulated  four  years'  interest,  and  the  trustees 
began  to  make  an  efi^ort  to  carry  out  the  terms  of  the 
legacy.  A  committee,  therefore,  was  appointed  "to 
procure  six  children  of  poor  people  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, three  whereof  to  be  educated  in  the  German 
School,  and  the  other  three  in  English."  At  the 
same  time  another  committee  was  deputed  "to  obtain 
subscriptions  of  such  persons  who  are  desirous  to 
encourage  literature  in  the  institution." 


118 


CHAPTER  VII 

In  the  Yellow  Fever  Year,  1793 

THE  year  1793,  memorable  in  the  annals  of 
Philadelphia  from  the  ravages  of  yellow 
fever,  which,  in  a  few  weeks  of  the  late  sum- 
mer and  early  autumn,  actually  depopulated 
the  city  by  death  or  flight,  was  a  year  that  began  a 
new  era  in  Germantown.  The  fever  was  responsible 
for  this  new  life  which  had  been  brought  to  the  old 
town.  As  the  disease  scarcely  made  its  presence  felt 
in  Germantown  there  was  a  belief,  not  only  popular, 
but  induced  by  the  statements  of  the  medical  authori- 
ties, that  this  immunity  was  due  to  the  elevated  posi- 
tion of  the  town.  It  matters  little  now  whether  that 
belief  was  founded  upon  scientific  grounds;  certainly, 
yellow  fever  did  not  claim  any  victims  in  Germantown. 
As  a  result  of  the  plague,  as  it  was  regarded,  the  well- 
to-do  Philadelphians,  who  were  frightened,  made  their 
way  to  several  suburban  communities,  but  there 
appears  to  have  been  a  well-defined  exodus  to  Ger- 
mantown and  its  vicinity.  This  flight  as  we  now  call 
it,  was  not,  of  course,  accomplished  in  a  day,  and  was 
more  of  a  tendency  to  recognize  the  advantages  of 
residence  in  the  town  than  an  agitated,  terrified  line  of 
struggling  refugees  swarming  the  old  Germantown 
road.  As  Germantown  was  a  small  community  at  the 
time,  of  probably  little  less  than  2000  persons,  occu- 
pying probably  not  many  more  than  300  houses,  there 
were  not  accommodations  for  all  who  wished  to  seek 
refuge  here.      But  as  there  was  a  feeling  of  unrest  in 

119 


A  History   of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

Philadelphia  owing  to  the  well-founded  belief  that  the 
yellow  fever  would  return  another  year,  many  of  the 
wealthy  persons  built  summer  homes  in  Germantown, 
where  they  expected  to  gain  immunity  in  subsequent 
years.  Consequently  the  population  of  Germantown 
almost  doubled  in  ten  years.  In  1800  the  population 
had  reached  3220. 

But  not  only  were  private  persons  seeking  refuge 
from  the  terror.  The  city  of  Philadelphia,  as  the 
capital  of  the  United  States  and  as  the  capital  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania,  had  to  make  provision  to  carry 
on  its  public  business  in  safety.  Neither  Congress 
nor  the  State  Legislature  could  feel  comfortable  in  the 
city  until  after  the  first  frost.  Germantown,  as  the 
nearest  town  to  the  capital,  and  regarded  as  safe  so 
far  as  the  fever  was  concerned,  was  suggested  as  the 
place  which  both  National  and  State  Governments 
should  select  as  their  refuge.  Aside  from  its  churches 
Germantown  had  no  building  likely  to  prove  suitable 
for  either  Congress  or  the  Assembly,  other  than  the 
schoolhouse.  Naturally  proposals  for  its  use  were 
received.  They  are  preserved  in  the  minutes  of  the 
board  of  October  26,  1793  : 

"A  Proposal  from  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania 
was  taken  into  consideration,  whether  this  Board 
would  accommodate  the  House  of  Assembly,  with  the 
School  Buildings  at  their  next  session;  it  being  also 
communicated  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
had  expressed  some  desire  to  know  whether  they  could 
be  accommodated  at  Germantown,  at  their  next 
Session.  Whereupon  Resolved,  that  a  Committee  be 
appointed  to  inquire  into   all   necessary   accommoda- 

120 


In    the    Yellow   Fever    Year 

tions  and  report  to  the  next  meeting  of  this  Board  to 
be  held  on  Saturday  next  at  3  o'clock  P.  M. — and 
particularly  the  Committee  are  requested  to  inform 
themselves  whether  a  suitable  house  for  the  School  can 
be  obtained  in  the  place  of  these  buildings. 

"The  Committee  appointed  are 
Mr.  Henry  Hill  (President)  Samuel  MechHn 

Samuel  Bringhurst  Melcher  Meng 

and  Joseph  Ferree  (Secretary)" 

Under  date  of  November  2,  1793,  it  is  learned  that : 

"The  Committee  of  last  Saturday  made  report, 
when  the  same  being  taken  into  consideration,  where- 
upon Resolved,  that  a  Committee  be  appointed  to 
carry  into  effect,  the  following  Resolutions;  viz. — 
That  if  necessary  to  the  accommodations  of  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  or  of  the  State  Legislature, 
they  do  first  make  the  President  of  the  United  States 
an  offer  of  the  School  Buildings,  on  the  following  terms; 
first — the  following  repairs  are  wanting;  to  wit,  104 
panes  of  glass ;  two  window  shutters ;  two  door  linings ; 
three  door  locks;  two  steps,  front  and  back  of  new 
wood;  the  hearths  to  be  laid  with  new  bricks;  sundry 
patching  and  white  washing  for  which  repairs  and  no 
others,  the  sum  of  sixty  dollars  will  be  allowed  out  of 
the  rent;  which  is  to  be  Three  Hundred  Dollars,  for 
one  Session  of  either  of  the  Legislatures  if  by  them 
occupied  for  the  Public  use,  and  that  the  said  com- 
mittee shall  procure  another  suitable  building  to 
accommodate  the  School  during  said  time. 

"  The  committee  appointed  are  Mr.  Henry  Hill, 
Samuel  Ashmead,  Christian  Schnider,  Samuel  Mechlin 
and  Joseph  Ferree." 

121 


A  History  of  The    German  town  Academy 

Oliver  Wolcott,  Comptroller  of  the  Currency,  who 
during  the  yellow  fever  period  resided  at  Dr.  Smith's 
house,  near  the  Falls  of  Schuylkill,  had  been  in  Ger- 
mantown  looking  for  accommodations  for  the  Govern- 
ment. In  a  letter  to  President  Washington,  dated 
October  20th,  he  wrote  : 

"  I  have  conversed  with  a  magistrate  of  the  place 
(Germantown),  and  am  informed  by  him  and  other 
persons  that  if  events  should  render  it  necessary  every 
exertion  will  be  made  to  accommodate  Congress  and 
the  public  officers — the  Schoolhouse,  with  the  adjoin- 
ing buildings,  may,  in  my  opinion,  at  small  expense, 
be  fitted  up  and  altered  so  as  to  afford  tolerable  accom- 
modations for  the  two  houses  and  their  immediate 
officers." 

The  committee  entrusted  to  carry  the  trustees' 
proposition  to  President  Washington,  visited  him  on 
the  morning  of  November  6th  in  the  large  house  next 
to  the  school,  which  Dove  had  erected  and  which  is 
now  known  as  the  Chancellor  House.  At  the  time 
Washington  resided  in  this  house,  it  was  occupied  by 
the  Rev.  Frederick  Herman,  who  was  pastor  of  the 
German  Reformed  Church  in  Market  Square.  In  the 
dwelling  of  this  honored  minister  the  President  obtained 
lodgings  through  the  good  offices  of  Edmund 
Randolph,  who  wrote  Washington  that  while  the 
clergyman  would  take  him  in,  he  would  not  go  so  far 
as  to  supply  his  dinner.  So  other  arrangements  for 
this  important  daily  meal  had  to  be  made.  Washing- 
ton remained  here  for  ten  days  before  he  leased  what 
is  now  known  as  the  Morris  House,  opposite  Market 
Square,  Germantown,  from  Colonel  Isaac  Franks.   The 

122 


In    the    Yellow   Fever    Year 

original  of  the  letter  which  the  committee  of  the 
trustees  of  the  Public  School  of  Germantown  read  to 
the  President  is  now  in  the  Library  of  Congress.  It 
is  in  the  following  form  : 

"  The  President  of  the  United  States, 

"  November  6,  1793. 
•'  Sir, 

"The  Trustees  of  the  Public  School  of  Germantown 
have  the  honor  to  wait  upon  the  President  with  a 
respectful  tender  of  the  school  buildings  for  the 
accommodation  of  Congress,  should  they  convene  at 
this  place. 

"To  judge  of  the  other  Inhabitants  of  Germantown 
from  our  own  motives  it  cannot  be  questioned  they 
would  on  this  occasion  strive  to  make  it  as  convenient 
a  residence  as  possible.  On  the  permanence  of  our 
general  Government  and  the  safety  of  its  supporters 
and  defenders  rests,  under  God,  in  our  view,  whatever 
we  hold  most  valuable, 

"  It  has  been  our  fortune,  Sir,  to  see  you  in  many 
seasons  of  difficulty  and  danger,  always  surmounting 
them ;  and  even  now  fortifying  with  your  presence  the 
good  spirit  of  the  Union  lately  humbled  by  the 
calamity  in  Philadelphia ;  an  alleviation  of  which  we 
participate,  doubtless  in  common  with  the  survivors  of 
the  city,  in  consequence  of  your  propitious  return  to 
this  state."* 

It  will  be  noticed  the  committee  felt  some  delicacy 
in  ofiFering  the  buildings,  and  at  the  same  time  asking 

*[NoTE.]     Reprinted  from  "Washington  in  Germantown." 

123 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  Academy 

that  Congress  put  in  window-panes,  new  front  and 
back  steps  and  sundry  minor  repairs.  The  fact  that 
they  performed  their  task  on  this  day,  however,  is  a 
matter  of  record  in  the  trustees'  minute  book.  And 
the  visit  is  also  checked  off  in  Washington's  diary. 
Under  the  date,  November  6,  1793,  his  diary  had  this 
note: 

"At  II  o'clock  the  Trustees  of  the  Public  School 
of  Germantown  waited  on  me  with  an  address  which 
was  read  by  Henry  Hill,  Esq.,  offering  the  School- 
house  for  the  use  of  Congress  shou'd  they  convene 
there." 

After  the  committee  retired  the  President  ad- 
dressed this  note  to  the  trustees: 

"To,  the  Trustees  of  the  Public  School  of  Ger- 
mantown. 

"  Gentlemen: 

"The  readiness  with  which  the  Trustees  of  the 
Public  School  of  Germantown  tender  the  buildings 
under  their  charge  for  the  use  of  Congress,  is  a  proof 
of  their  zeal  for  furthering  the  public  good;  and 
doubtless  the  Inhabitants  of  Germantown  generally, 
actuated  by  the  same  motives,  will  feel  the  same  dis- 
position to  accomodate,  if  necessary,  those  who 
assemble  but  for  their  service  and  that  of  their  fellow 
citizens. 

"Where  it  will  be  best  for  Congress  to  remain  will 
depend  on  circumstances  which  are  daily  unfolding 
themselves  and  for  the  issue  of  which  we  can  but  offer 
up  our  prayers  to  the  Sovereign  Dispenser  of  life  and 

124 


In    the    Ye  I  low    Fever    Year 

health.  His  favor  too  on  our  endeavors — the  good 
sense  and  firmness  of  our  fellow  citizens,  and  fidelity 
in  those  they  employ,  will  secure  to  us  a  permanence 
of  good  government. 

"  If  I  have  been  fortunate  enough  during  the 
vicissitudes  of  my  life,  so  to  have  conducted  myself,  as 
to  have  merited  your  approbation,  it  is  the  source  of 
much  pleasure ;  and  should  my  future  conduct  merit  a 
continuance  of  your  good  opinion,  especially  at  a  time 
when  our  country,  and  the  city  of  Philadelphia  in  par- 
ticular, is  visited  by  so  severe  a  calamity,  it  will  add 
more  than  a  little  to  my  happiness — 

"Go:  Washington."* 

Jefi^erson  wrote  the  first  two  paragraphs  of  the 
letter,  and  the  courteous  acknowledgment  of  the  praise 
bestowed  upon  him  by  the  trustees  is  in  the  well- 
known  hand  of  Washington  himself.  But  Congress 
did  not  decide  to  meet  in  Germantown,  and  the  Penn- 
sylvania Legislature,  also,  seemed  to  desire  a  location 
more  remote  from  the  stricken  capital. 


*[NoTE.]     Reprinted  from  "Washington  in  Germantown." 

125 


CHAPTER  VIII 

"The  Academy,"  1794-1799 

THE  transformation  that  had  taken  place  in 
the  character  of  the  quiet  old  town  because 
of  the  exodus  from  Philadelphia  was  paral- 
leled in  part  in  the  school.  From  the  time 
of  the  reopening  of  the  institution  ten  years  before,  it 
is  evident  that,  while  a  certain  conservatism  still 
prompted  many  of  the  actions  of  the  trustees,  they 
were  actuated  by  a  more  progressive  policy.  There 
was  no  longer,  however,  a  rivalry  with  the  College  and 
Academy  of  Philadelphia.  That  institution  had 
weathered  a  severe  legal  storm  and  now,  as  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,  had  started  on  its  great  career. 
Attention  to  Germantown  had  been  attracted  in  a 
way  that  caused  it  to  be  viewed  in  a  new  light.  It  was 
not  far  from  Philadelphia,  yet  it  was  a  safe  refuge  from 
visitations  of  yellow  fever.  Further,  such  visitations 
had  been  predicted,  and  the  horror  of  the  summer  of 
the  year  1793  in  Philadelphia  was  only  a  little  less 
terrible  as  a  memory  than  the  apprehension  of  ravages 
likely  to  occur  the  next  year.  Nearly  all  of  the  wealthy 
inhabitants  of  the  capital  made  immediate  provision 
for  the  future.  They  purchased  or  built  country 
houses  at  various  places  around  Philadelphia,  but 
probably  the  largest  number  turned  their  eyes  on 
Germantown. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  Public  School  of  German- 
town  became  benefited  by  this  new  popularity.  Thomas 
Dungan,  still  the  master  of  the    Enghsh  department, 

126 


''The   Academy'' 

prospered  for  a  while,  and  that  he  was  held  in  high 
esteem  by  the  board  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  at  times 
he  was  appointed  on  its  committees.  Evidently  his 
advice  and  assistance  were  valued.  A  new  class  of 
persons  was  being  added  to  the  population  of  Phil- 
adelphia now  as  a  result  of  the  French  Revolution,  and 
the  popular  interest  in  this  country  in  anything  French 
was  great  and  widespread.  There  was  a  firm  bond  of 
sympathy  with  the  Revolutionists,  who,  in  the  popular 
mind,  were  regarded  as  unpaid  national  creditors. 
This  being  the  attitude  of  the  public  it  was  concluded 
by  the  trustees  of  the  school  that  a  French  teacher 
was  needed.  At  the  same  time  the  desire  for  state  aid 
became  more  marked  as  the  attempt  to  increase  the 
prestige  and  extend  the  usefulness  of  the  institution 
became  more  frequent. 

At  the  meeting  held  May  4,  1794,  new  rules  and 
regulations  for  the  school  were  adopted  by  the  board ; 
and  it  may  be  remarked  that  upon  almost  every  occa- 
sion when  it  was  felt  that  the  time  for  rejuvenation  had 
arrived,  the  signal  was  sounded  in  new  rules  and  reg- 
ulations. Those  adopted  in  this  year  are  so  similar  to 
those  already  mentioned  that  their  promulgation  now 
seems  to  suggest  they  had  fallen  into  disuse  and  con- 
tempt. They  are  not  without  interest,  however,  and 
so  they  are  given  here : 

RULES  AND  REGULATIONS 

First.  The  following  hours  to  be  observed  as 
school  hours  during  the  day,  viz.:  From  the  first  day 
of  April  in  every  year  to  the  first  day  of  October, 
from  8  o'clock  in  the  morning  until   12  o'clock  in  the 

127 


A  History   of  The  G  er  man  town  Academy 

afternoon,  and  from  2  o'clock  until  5  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  ;  and  from  the  first  day  of  October  to  the 
first  day  of  April,  from  9  o'clock  in  the  morning  until 
12  o'clock  at  noon,  Sundays  excepted,  and  from  2 
o'clock  until  thirty  minutes  after  4  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon. 

Secondly.  That  the  masters  shall  be  respectively 
answerable  for  the  conduct  of  their  scholars  while 
going  to  and  from  school,  that  they  shall  not  go  into 
any  field  or  orchard  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  school 
without  permission  from  the  owner  or  tenant  thereof, 
but  take  the  most  public  road  leading  to  and  from  the 
same,  and  that  the  strictest  order  be  observed  in  the 
government  of  each  school  so  that  the  masters  and 
scholars  may  profit  thereby. 

Thirdly.  The  several  masters  must  be  answerable 
for  the  cleanliness  of  the  room  or  rooms  in  which  he 
teaches  and  see  that  no  sweepings  be  left  in  the  school- 
house,  but  be  immediately  removed  and  that  each 
master  have  the  room  in  which  he  teaches  white-washed 
at  least  once  in  every  year  at  his  own  expense. 

It  is  not  always  possible  to  determine  what  destiny 
awaited  many  of  the  board's  projects.  A  committee 
would  be  appointed  to  do  a  certain  thing  and  report 
at  the  next  meeting,  but  often  that  would  end  the 
matter  so  far  as  the  minutes  of  the  board  are  concerned. 
From  what  we  know  of  the  early  trustees  of  the 
Academy  it  is  difficult  to  take  the  view  that  they  allowed 
issues  to  be  buried  in  committee.  From  the  beginning 
they  appear  to  have  been  very  punctilious,  and  conse- 

128 


"  The   Academy  " 

quently  the  explanation  that  seems  best  to  fit  the 
situation  is  that  the  many  new  plans  may  have  failed 
and  the  secretary,  under  the  circumstances,  did  not 
believe  it  necessary  to  record  them  in  his  minutes. 

At  this  meeting  on  May  4,  1794,  Samuel  Mechlin, 
Melchoir  Meng,  Thomas  Forrest  and  Isaac  Franks 
were  appointed  a  committee  "  to  wait  on  the  Governor 
of  this  state  on  behalf  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Public 
School  of  Germantown  to  make  enquiry  and  application 
for  the  tract  of  land  granted  by  the  Legislature 
of  Pennsylvania  for  the  use  of  the  Public  School 
House  of  Germantown."  This  committee  was  to  report 
at  the  next  meeting,  but  we  hear  no  more  about  it.  In 
January,  1790,  a  committee  had  drafted  a  petition  for 
lands  and  this  had  been  granted,  but  the  trustees  did 
not  avail  themselves  of  it  owing  to  the  conditions 
of  its  acceptance.  We  do  not  see  any  further 
reference  to  the  subject  in  the  minute  book  until  May 
2,  1796,  under  which  date,  it  is  recorded  that  it  was 
agreed  to  revive  the  committee  and  present  to  the 
next  session  of  the  Legislature  a  petition  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  the  lands.  But  the  board  must  have 
failed  in  its  quest,  for  we  read  no  more  of  the  subject. 

In  the  Summer  of  this  year  the  school  had  two 
additions  to  its  faculty  that  the  board  held  notable. 
There  is  pride  in  the  advertisement  they  inserted  in 
the  "  Pennsylvania  Gazette,"  on  June  11,  1794,  setting 
forth  the  acquisitions. 

GERMANTOWN   ACADEMY 

Will  be  opened  the  ist  of  July  by  F.  Herman,  from 
Germany;  J.  M.  Ray,  from   Edinburgh,  lately  from 

129 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  Academy 

Paris  (author  of  the  Comprehensive  View  of  Philo- 
sophical, Political  and  Theological  Systems  from  the 
Creation  to  the  Present  Time,  the  Only  True  Guide  to 
the  English  Grammar,  &c) ;  and  others;  under  the  inspec- 
tion of  the  Trustees.  German  and  English  Grammar, 
French,  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew  and  other  Oriental 
languages,  the  Philosophical  Sciences,  and  all  the 
branches  of  a  common  and  liberal  education,  fitting 
for  the  various  employments  in  life,  will  be  taught  on 
the  improved  plan,  in  the  most  expeditious  manner,  in 
a  way  both  scientific  and  applicable  to  practice  in 
human  life;  particular  attention  will  be  paid  to  the 
health  and  morals  of  youth;  few  places  are  so  pleasant 
and  healthful;  it  is  six  miles  from  Philadelphia. 

When  the  new  term  began,  the  school  had  among 
its  pupils  George  Washington  Parke  Custis,  Washing- 
ton's adopted  son.  It  was  quite  natural  that  Washing- 
ton should  send  the  youth  to  the  Germantown  School. 
He  had  been  in  Germantown  the  previous  fall,  had 
had  his  lodgings  beside  the  schoolhouse  ;  had  lodged 
with  and  attended  the  church  of  the  new  German 
master,  and  in  many  ways  became  intimate  with  those 
connected  with  the  government  of  the  school.  Then, 
too,  it  was  sufficiently  near  the  capital  for  the  President 
to  see  the  boy  once  in  a  while,  and  the  climate  and  sur- 
roundings were  attractive.  Those  dinners  which 
Washington  could  not  get  at  the  Rev.  Mr.  Herman's 
house  may  have  been  brought  in  from  Bockius's  King 
of  Prussia  ;  and,  for  a  while,  the  President  stabled  his 
horses  with  "Squire"  Ferree.  Colonel  Thomas  For- 
rest, one  of  the  trustees,  Washington  may  have  recol- 

130 


"  The   Academy'' 

lected  from  his  army  associations,  and  the  manorial 
house,  Carleton,  of  another,  Henry  Hill,  and  that 
gentleman's  position  in  the  life  of  the  city,  may  have 
attracted  the  President  to  the  school.  His  home  in 
Germantown,  too,  now  known  as  the  Morris  House, 
was  rented  from  a  trustee  of  the  school,  Colonel  Isaac 
Franks. 

From  the  advertisement  just  quoted,  and  from 
other  evidence,  it  appears  that  the  old  poHcy  of  paying 
salaries  to  the  masters  had  long  been  discontinued. 
The  trustees  were  careful  in  selecting  a  master,  and  in 
seeing  that  he  attended  to  his  duty,  but  his  compensa- 
tion was  left  to  the  master's  own  energies.  If  he  were 
energetic  and  fortunate  he  might  make  a  good  living 
in  the  course  of  a  year;  if  the  school  was  unsuccessful, 
the  burden  of  loss  fell  upon  him. 

Another  attempt  to  establish  a  school  for  girls  was 
made  in  1797.  At  the  May  meeting  that  year  it  was 
agreed  to  advertise  for  a  well-qualified  English  school- 
mistress to  teach  a  girls'  school,  and  to  accommodate 
her  with  a  dwelling.  A  new  German  master  was  also 
desired,  for  the  Rev.  Mr.  Herman  had  left  German- 
town.  The  French  teacher,  James  Chambers,  probably 
Colonel  James  Chambers,  who  had  been  appointed  to 
teach  that  language  and  Latin  in  1795,  had  retired. 
Like  Mr.  Herman,  whom  he  followed,  he  seems  to 
have  remained  only  a  year.  If  the  trustees  succeeded 
in  obtaining  the  English  schoolmistress,  all  record  of 
the  acquisition  has  been  lost.  A  native  French  teacher, 
Godfrey  Dorfenille,  was  obtained  in  May,  1796,  to 
teach  that  language,  as  well  as  English  and  penman- 
ship. 

131 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  Academy 

It  was  during  this  period  that  the  name  Academy 
was  first  used  for  our  old  school.  While  it  was  not  its 
legal  title  it  gradually  crept  into  general  use.  In  the 
letter  written  by  James  Chambers,  applying  for  the 
position  of  teacher  of  the  French  language,  he  refers 
to  "  The  Academy "  as  if  that  was  its  usual  name, 
although  it  is  possible  that  he  used  the  word  in  a 
broader  and  more  descriptive  sense.  At  any  rate,  the 
minutes  written  by  Colonel  Isaac  Franks  refer  to  the 
school  as  "  The  Academy  "  first  in  the  record  of  the 
meeting  held  May  21,  1796.  Ever  since  that  time, 
irrespective  of  its  original  and  corporate  title,  the 
school  has  been  the  Germantown  Academy,  not  only 
to  Germantowners  but  to  Philadelphians  generally. 

The  board,  though  having  once  failed  to  obtain  a 
grant  of  land  that  had  been  awarded  the  school  by  the 
Assembly,  made  another  attempt  at  the  meeting  of  the 
board  on  May  7,  1798,  to  get  state  aid.  This  time 
a  committee  consisting  of  Samuel  Mechlin,  JohnFrom- 
berger  and  Isaac  Franks  was  appointed  to  apply  to 
the  State  Legislature  at  the  commencement  of  its  next 
session,  for  a  grant  of  money  to  enable  the  trustees  to 
repair  the  schoolhouse.  But  the  board  did  not  get 
the  money  from  that  quarter.  They  did  succeed, 
however,  in  a  very  legitimate  manner,  in  getting,  not 
only  enough  money  to  repair  the  school,  but  a  surplus 
to  invest.  At  this  meeting  also,  John  Fromberger,  the 
treasurer,  was  directed  to  make  application  on  behalf 
of  the  trustees,  to  the  executors  of  the  estate  of  Paul 
Engle,  lately  deceased,  for  the  legacy  left  by  him  to 
the  school.  Ferdinand  Kreamer  was  admitted  as  Ger- 
man teacher  at   a  special  meeting  of  the   Board,   to 

132 


"  T h e   Academy " 

"  enjoy  all  the  rights  and  privileges,  provided  he  con- 
tinues deserving,"  etc. 

A  special  meeting  of  the  board  was  held  Septem- 
ber 5,  1798,  when  it  was  noted  that  "The  banks  ac- 
cordingly moved  their  institutions  in  the  Public  School 
House,  viz. :  the  Banks  of  Pennsylvania,  and  of  North 
America,"  on  the  conditions  proposed,  and  that  they 
gave  the  trustees  an  obligation,  of  which  the  following 
is  a  copy  : 

"  In  consideration  of  the  use  of  the  first  story  and 
cellar  of  the  Public  School  House  of  Germantown,  we 
agree  and  promise  to  put  a  new  roof  on  the  Public 
School  House  which  we  are  to  occupy,  and  to  paint 
the  same  with  two  coats  of  paint,  and  to  be  completed 
by  the  first  day  of  June  next,  at  the  cost  and  expense 
of  the  Banks  of  Pennsylvania  and  North  America. 

"As  witness  our  hands  at  Germantown,  this  4th 
day  of  September,  1798. 

"  Signed        Benjamin  W.  Morris, 

"  In  behalf  of  the  Bank  of  Pennsylvania. 

"  MoRDicAi  Lewis, 
"  In  behalf  of  the  Bank  of  North  America." 

These  two  fiscal  institutions,  fearing  the  desolation 
a  return  of  the  yellow  fever  would  cause  in  the  city, 
and  taking  into  consideration  the  probability  that  a 
large  number  of  their  customers  in  such  an  event 
would  retire  to  Germantown,  decided  to  take  up 
quarters  there.  They  were  none  too  soon  in  making 
the  change,  for  the  fever  did  visit  the  city  again,  and 
while  it  did  not  claim  so  many  victims  as  on  its  pre- 
vious appearance,  the  city  was  deserted  for  over  two 

133 


A  History  of  The  German  town  Academy 

months.  As  may  be  imagined  the  trustees  of  the 
school  were  pleased  to  have  such  liberal  tenants  for 
their  building,  and  had  their  minds  set  at  rest  over  the 
new  roof  and  repairs. 

Two  measurers  were  appointed  to  examine  the  roof 
and  the  building  generally  in  order  to  discover  exactly 
what  repairs  were  needed.  For  the  school,  Silas  Engle 
was  to  act  as  measurer,  and  for  the  banks,  William 
Garrigues.  They  reported  the  repairs  desired  would 
cost  -^'254  1 6s.  Their  charge  for  services  was  £"]  12s. 
The  repairs  appear  to  have  been  made,  and  the  minutes 
of  the  May  meeting  the  next  year,  1799,  convey  the 
information  that  it  was  found  the  repairs  to  the  school- 
house  would  last  for  years.  Looking  for  an  invest- 
ment for  the  money  paid  by  the  two  banks,  the  com- 
mittee that  had  been  appointed  to  invest  $1000  in 
stocks  reported  that  for  $1003.33,  about  the  amount 
the  banks  had  paid  the  school,  they  had  purchased 
$1250  of  6  per  cent,  stock. 

After  leaving  the  institution  in  November,  1798, 
the  officers  of  the  banks  sent  a  letter  to  the  trustees 
"  thanking  them  for  the  asylum  which  they  had  afforded 
those  institutions  during  the  dreadful  calamity  which 
lately  afflicted  the  city  of  Philadelphia,"  and  proposing 
to  engage  the  building  for  the  next  year ;  "  in  case 
(which  God  forbid  !)  the  exigencies  "  should  render  it 
necessary  to  return.  There  was  a  conference  subse- 
quently, at  which  the  banks  were  represented  by  John 
Morton,  George  Brickham,WilliamT. Smith,  A.Henry 
and  Richard  Rundle,  and  the  Academy  by  Colonel 
Isaac  Franks,  George  Bensell  and  Benjamin  Lehman. 
This  body  discussed  what  the   banks  should  pay  in 

134 


''The   Academy'' 

case  they  occupied  the  Academy  again.  Finally  it  was 
determined  they  should  pay  down  four  hundred  dol- 
lars as  a  gratuity  to  the  Academy  and  a  further  sum 
of  four  hundred  dollars  in  case  the  banks  should  make 
use  of  the  building.  The  gratuity  or  deposit  of  four 
hundred  dollars  was  paid,  but  the  banks  were  never 
again  driven  from  Philadelphia. 

At  the  May,  or  annual  meeting  in  the  year  1799, 
the  trustees  elected  as  their  president  Colonel  Thomas 
Forrest,  who  first  entered  the  board  in  the  year  1794. 
From  its  beginning  the  Academy  had  been  most  for- 
tunate in  the  class  of  men  it  attracted  to  its  governing 
body,  and  in  Colonel  Forrest  they  had  a  president 
who  was  as  able  as  any  of  his  predecessors,  although, 
like  some  of  the  other  prominent  men  whose  names 
are  connected  with  the  school,  very  little  is  popularly 
known  of  him  today. 

Colonel  Forrest,  while  still  a  very  young  man,  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  writing  the  most  humorous  play 
that  had  been  written  in  this  country.  "  The  Disap- 
pointment "  was  twice  printed,  first  in  the  year  1767, 
when  it  was  put  in  rehearsal  at  the  Southwark  Theatre, 
and,  in  a  much  enlarged  form,  in  1796.  Slight  as  is  its 
plot  it  displays  close  acquaintance  with  the  rules  of 
theatrical  efficiency,  and  is  the  best  picture  our  litera- 
ture offers  of  a  certain  kind  of  city  life  in  the  middle 
eighteenth  century  in  Pennsylvania.  In  its  humor  it  is 
almost  Rabelaisian  and  in  its  satire  quite  as  effective 
as  anything  Foote  ever  wrote.  It  lampoons  some 
well-known  characters  of  its  day  in  Philadelphia,  among 
them  John  Reily,  who  had  been  an  assistant  teacher 
and  writing  master  in  Dove's  school  in  Videll's  Alley, 

135 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  Academy 

and  Anthony  Armbruster,  a  German  printer  responsi- 
ble for  much  anonymous  literature  ;  and,  perhaps,  be- 
cause of  its  lampooning  it  was  never  presented.  Not 
only  was  everybody  in  Philadelphia  laughing  over 
the  printed  play  when  it  first  appeared,  but,  almost 
thirty  years  afterwards,  the  second  edition  found 
numerous  readers. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  War  Colonel 
Forrest  is  said  to  have  led  a  company  of  scouts  who 
attired  themselves  as  Indians.  In  March,  1776,  the 
Council  of  Safety  appointed  him  a  captain  of  a  com- 
pany of  marines,  and  authorized  him  to  recruit  his 
force,  which  was  to  be  given  duty  on  a  floating  bat- 
tery. In  October  of  that  year,  however,  he  was  ap- 
pointed captain  of  the  second  company  of  Major 
Proctor's  Artillery.  He  took  part  in  the  battle  of 
Trenton  ;  was  commissioned  Major  when  an  artillery 
regiment  was  formed,  and,  in  1778,  was  given  the 
rank  of  Lieutenant-Colonel.  He  resigned  from  the 
service  in  October,  1781.  From  the  year  1780  until 
1786  he  had  a  petition  before  the  Supreme  Executive 
Council  to  recover  his  share  in  considerable  city  prop- 
erty. After  retiring  from  the  army  he  lived  on  the 
noth  side  of  Market  Street,  between  Fourth  and  Fifth 
Streets,  where  he  is  described  as  purchaser  of  certifi- 
cates and  paper  money.  In  1788  he  purchased  from 
William  Shoemaker  and  Martha,  his  wife,  the  estate 
in  Germantown,  long  known  as  Pomona  Grove,  which 
was  situated  next  to  the  Upper  Burying  Ground. 
Here  he  took  up  his  residence  permanently  about 
1793,  and  it  was  his  home  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  March  20,  1828,  when  he  was  in  his   eighty- 

136 


"  The  Academy'' 

third  year.  Colonel  Forrest  remained  president  of 
the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Germantown  Academy 
until  he  resigned  in  1805.  He  represented  his  dis- 
trict in  Congress  from  1819  to  1823. 


137 


CHAPTER  IX 

The  Decline  of  the   German   School,  i  800-1 809 

OVER  the  country  generally,  in  the  years 
1 800-1 809,  and  over  the  little  town  in  par- 
ticular, there  had  come  a  sense  of  Ameri- 
canism that  very  naturally  was  not  present 
when  the  school  was  founded.  Since  then  a  new 
nation  had  been  born ;  new  generations  of  schoolboys 
had  come  into  being,  and  Germantown  was  no  longer 
distinctively  German,  despite  the  Teutonic  names  still 
in  the  majority  here.  There  had  not  been  for  many 
years  much  increase  in  the  population  here  from  immi- 
gration from  Germany,  and  the  German  patois,  so 
long  and  so  carefully  preserved,  was  becoming  less 
and  less  heard  in  Germantown.  It  was  not  entirely  lost 
or  forgotten,  but  it  was  rapidly  giving  way  to  English. 
During  this  period  the  Academy  relied  solely  upon 
local  support.  Here  and  there  in  the  pages  of  the 
trustees'  book  one  catches  occasional  glimpses  of  the 
prudent  thought  and  wise  thrift  of  that  body.  Care- 
ful as  they  had  to  be  of  their  modest  resources,  they 
kept  a  faithful  watch  over  every  legacy,  and  so  soon  as 
it  became  known  to  them  that  they  were  beneficiaries 
under  a  will,  they  introduced  the  subject  to  the  execu- 
tor. They  had  now  a  small  endowment  fund,  invested 
in  the  six  per  cents.,  and  an  inspection  of  the  books 
shows  that  they  also  had,  in  addition  to  the  legacies  of 
$600  received  from  Mrs.  Hill  and  her  husband  in 
1804,  a  bequest  of  $266.67  from  Christopher  Ludwick, 
the  eccentric  Baker-General  of  the  Continental  Army, 

138 


The    Decline    of  the    German    School 

whose  bequests  to  education  were  for  many  years 
most  productive  of  good,  and  even  now  are  increasing 
the  store  of  popular  knowledge  through  courses  of 
lectures  given  each  winter  in  the  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences.  At  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  Ludwick  was 
a  resident  of  Germantown,  on  Township  Line  Road, 
north  of  Haines  Street,  not  so  very  far  from  the  one- 
time home  of  Colonel  Forrest.  The  legacies,  includ- 
ing that  of  Paul  Engle,  amounted  to  $866.67,  ^^^  P'*0" 
ceeds  of  which  were  devoted  to  the  education  of  poor 
children.  This  sum  was  loaned  to  the  Presbyterian 
Society  for  many  years  before  it  was  otherwise 
invested. 

Dr.  George  Bensell,  at  the  meeting  on  May  5, 
1800,  made  application  for  one  of  the  vacant  rooms 
upstairs  in  the  schoolhouse  for  the  use  of  a  library, 
but  for  some  reason  consideration  of  the  project  was 
postponed.  Similar  action  was  taken  on  an  applica- 
tion for  the  use  of  one  of  the  vacant  rooms  for  the 
use  of  a  Masonic  Lodge.  This  application  was  made 
by  Matthew  Huston,  Edward  H.  Shoemaker,  John 
Sellers  and  others,  who  "  prayed  the  leave "  of  the 
trustees  to  be  indulged  in  the  use  of  a  room,  "  if  not 
gratis,  at  least  for  a  moderate  rent."  This  was  Hiram 
Lodge,  then  only  recently  founded. 

About  this  time  the  trustees  had  been  neighborly 
in  permitting  the  use  of  their  building  for  various 
public  functions.  They  had  permitted  religious  socie- 
ties who  were  without  a  home  to  worship  in  their 
buildings,  but  they  were  beginning  to  look  with  dis- 
favor on  any  occupation  of  the  schoolhouse  other  than 
that   originally   intended.      Thus,    on   September   17, 

139 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  A c ademy 

1802,  we  find  a  resolution  was  adopted,  setting  forth: 

"  Whereas,  the  Public  Schoolhouse  is  now  in  per- 
fect order  for  the  accommodation  of  schools  agreeable 
to  charter,  different  religious  societies  having  hereto- 
fore had  liberty  to  hold  meetings  of  worship  in  the 
said  school  whereby  it  has  been  damaged  and  is  likely 
to  receive  more  injury,  if  they  are  permitted  any 
longer  to  hold  meetings  therein  ; 

"  Whereupon,  Resolved,  that  the  Board  of  Trustees 
cannot  suffer  it  to  be  appropriated  for  the  purpose  of 
public  worship." 

That  this  action  of  the  board  was  not  regarded  as 
final  appears  from  the  fact  that  at  the  October  meet- 
ing a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Thomas  Everhard,  minister 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  was  read,  request- 
ing that  the  society  might  have  the  liberty  to  preach 
in  the  schoolhouse  on  Sabbath  days.  "  Cannot  be 
granted  "  is  the  comment  in  the  trustees'  book. 

This  year,  too,  the  banks  made  an  application  for 
use  of  the  building,  but  fortunately  the  yellow  fever 
gave  Philadelphia  a  respite  and  it  was  not  necessary 
for  these  institutions  to  remove  to  Germantown. 

A  committee  having  been  appointed  to  make  a 
view  of  the  condition  of  the  schoolhouse,  reported,  in 
July,  a  recommendation  that  it  would  be  an  improve- 
ment if  the  pupils  were  prevented  from  having  access 
to  the  upper  stories,  and  that  this  could  be  brought 
about  by  conducting  the  bell-rope  through  the  floor 
to  the  second  story,  "  and  that  the  door  be  fixed  with 
a  lock  and  key  at  the  first  landing  of  the  lower  stairs, 
made  of  open-work  to  admit  a  current  of  air  necessary 
for  health." 

140 


The   Decline   of  the    German    School 

At  the  meeting  on  March  21,  1803,  Dr.  Bensell  was 
appointed  a  committee  to  purchase  a  pair  of  globes 
for  the  use  of  the  school. 

Thomas  Dungan,  who  had  for  many  years  been 
held  in  high  esteem  as  the  master  of  the  English 
school,  died  in  the  year  1805,  and  in  May  of  that  year, 
Nathaniel  Major  was  appointed  by  the  trustees  to  fill 
the  vacancy.  The  arrangement  made  with  him  was 
similar  to  those  commonly  entered  into  between 
board  and  masters:  "To  have  the  same  house  and 
lot  Mr.  Dungan  had,  free  of  rent  and  to  be  allowed 
$2  a  quarter  for  reading  and  writing  and  common 
arithmetic,  but  to  be  permitted  to  charge  a  further 
reasonable  sum  for  the  higher  branches  of  learning,  to 
be  limited  to  fifty  scholars  unless  he  keeps  an  usher." 
Major  agreed  to  keep  the  schoolroom  and  "  half  the 
entry  "  clean,  and  "  once  a  year  at  least  to  have  the 
same  whitewashed,  and  will  leave  the  windows  in  such 
repair  as  he  finds  them." 

Mr.  Major  remained  but  a  year  and  was  followed 
by  John  Conrad  as  English  master,  who  acted  also  as 
secretary  of  the  board  during  his  term.  Mr.  Conrad 
being  appointed  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  the  year  1808, 
his  dwelling,  and,  perhaps,  the  schoolhouse,  at  times 
became  the  scene  of  proceedings  before  his  petty 
court.  The  board  insisted  that  he  employ  an  usher 
after  his  election  as  a  magistrate.  A  year  later  he 
resigned  from  the  school.  From  these  instances  it 
will  be  plain  to  the  reader  that  there  was  a  rapid  pro- 
cession of  instructors  through  the  school,  a  proces- 
sion that  either  resulted  from  a  decline  in  the  school 
or  was  responsible  for  it.     Certainly  healthy  growth  in 

141 


A  History   of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

an  educational  institution  is  not  contributed  to  by 
constant  change  in  the  teaching  staff.  Not  only  was 
the  English  department  affected  in  this  way,  but  the 
French  and  German  instructors  were  appointed  and 
disappeared  with  just  as  much  regularity.  On  Febru- 
ary 12,  1809,  a  Mr.  Strang  became  German  master, 
but  his  pupils  were  so  few  in  number  that  he  kept  the 
German  school  in  his  own  house,  and  the  same  year 
William  Woodman  became  instructor  in  "  Select  Eng- 
lish and  Latin,"  probably  displacing  F.  J.  N.  Neef, 
who,  on  March  28,  1807,  had  been  appointed  instruc- 
tor in  French,  Latin  and  Greek.  Neef  was  later 
master  of  a  school  well  known  in  its  day  at  the  Falls 
of  Schuylkill.  It  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  he 
would  succeed  at  the  Academy,  for  it  was  his  first 
position  in  this  country,  and  two  years  before  he  came 
he  had  no  English  at  all.  Neef,  who  had  assisted 
Pestalozzi  at  his  famous  school  near  Berne,  in  Switzer- 
land, was  brought  to  America  by  William  Maclure,  of 
Philadelphia,  who,  after  seeing  the  great  school  in 
operation,  hunted  out  Neef  in  Paris,  where  he  was 
teaching,  and  made  arrangements  for  him  to  come 
over  as  soon  as  he  could  speak  English.  Mr.  Wood- 
man was  to  depend  upon  the  receipts  for  his  com- 
pensation, and  was  permitted  to  charge  $5  a  quarter. 
It  was  a  period  of  troubles,  difficulties  and  changes, 
but  it  was  also  a  period  that  saw  the  return  of  some  of 
the  well-known  men  who  formerly  had  given  active 
support  to  the  government  of  the  school.  In  1805 
there  was  difficulty  over  the  election  for  trustees. 
After  the  ballots  had  been  counted,  it  was  discovered 
that   some   persons  who   were  not  contributors  had 

142 


The    Decline    of  the    German    School 

voted ;  so  another  election  was  held  on  June  24th  of 
that  year. 

A  change  in  the  beginning  and  close  of  the  school 
year  was  brought  about  in  1806.  It  was  resolved  that 
the  year  should  close  with  the  month  of  March  and 
open  with  the  month  of  May,  and  therefore  it  was  de- 
cided the  masters  should  be  elected  annually  on  the 
last  Saturday  in  March.  No  master  was  permitted 
more  than  fifty  pupils  unless  he  had  an  usher  who  should 
be  approved  by  the  trustees. 

There  were  many  little  troubles  for  the  trustees  to 
smooth  out  during  this  period.  In  the  early  part  of 
the  year  1807,  for  instance,  complaint  was  made  that 
negroes  and  mulattos  were  placed  on  the  same  benches 
with  white  children.  The  trustees  disposed  of  the 
problem  by  directing  the  masters  to  see  that  negroes 
were  separately  seated.  In  November  of  this  year  the 
broken  windows  of  the  schoolhouse  worried  the  trus- 
tees. A  note  in  the  book  of  minutes  refers  to  the 
fact  that  it  is  understood  "  that  the  schoolhouse  had 
been  injured,  and  the  windows  broken  by  the  disor- 
derly behavior  of  the  boys  at  some  of  the  late  exhibi- 
tions and  balls  held  in  the  schoolhouse,"  and  this  diffi- 
culty was  disposed  of  with  finality  by  the  decree  "that 
there  be  no  balls  or  public  exhibitions  hereafter  in  the 
schoolhouse  without  an  order  from  a  meeting  of  the 
Board." 

The  failure  of  the  first  lottery  had  become  a  tradi- 
tion, but  as  at  this  time,  1808,  lottery  schemes  became 
more  numerous  than  ever,  the  trustees  sought  to 
increase  their  funds  by  resorting  to  the  very  common, 
and,  then   respectable  means  of  raising  money  by  a 

143 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  A cademy 

lottery.  That  the  board  was  not  a  unit  on  the  propo- 
sition is  shown  by  the  resignation  of  John  Johnson, 
the  treasurer,  and  grandson  of  the  first  treasurer  of 
the  school,  Richard  Johnson.  A  committee  appointed 
at  a  meeting  in  December,  1808,  made  application  of 
the  Legislature  for  the  privilege  of  holding  a  lottery. 
They  were  very  persistent,  and  made  the  long,  tedious 
journey  to  Lancaster,  where  the  Assembly  was  in 
session,  to  make  their  plea.  Their  expenses,  however, 
were  modest,  for  the  committee  presented  a  bill  for 
$39.25,  which  was  paid  by  the  board.  The  proposi- 
tion seems  to  have  been  defeated  by  friends  of  the 
Academy,  and  at  the  next  annual  meeting  Mr.  John- 
son was  re-elected  to  the  board. 


144 


CHAPTER  X 

A  Period  of  Educational  Experiments,  i  8 10-1820 

FINDING  the  Academy  was  not  doing  the 
work  expected  of  it,  being  under  the  necessity 
of  almost  yearly  advertising  for  a  suitable 
master  and  witnessing  the  decay  of  the  German 
department,  the  trustees  sought  a  solution  for  their 
troubles,  and  believed  they  had  found  it  when  they 
devised  a  scheme  for  bringing  all  the  departments 
under  one  head,  who  was  to  be  the  principal.  Mr. 
Woodman,  who  had  come  to  the  Academy  as  the 
Classical  master,  made  appHcation  for  the  new  posi- 
tion, but  was  unsuccessful,  as  he  appears  to  have  been 
with  his  department  in  the  school. 

By  this  departure  the  board  relieved  themselves  of 
much  of  the  detail,  and  made  the  instructors  responsi- 
ble to  the  principal,  and  the  latter  alone  answerable  to 
the  trustees.  The  board  naturally  retained  the  right 
of  visitation  and  suggestion.  They  advertised  for  a 
principal  who  should  be  able  to  teach  Latin,  Greek  and 
French.  He  was  offered  "  in  addition  to  the  privilege 
of  the  schoolhouse  and  two  dwelling-houses,  together 
with  all  the  land  belonging  thereto  ....  eight 
hundred  dollars  per  annum."  On  February  10,  18 10, 
George  I.  Howell  was  elected  principal.  While  com- 
paratively little  can  be  learned  of  this  instructor,  who 
was  the  first  principal  of  the  Academy,  the  records  of 
the  school  reveal  an  able,  enterprising  man,  in  some 
respects  similar  to  the  first  English  master,  Dove.  He 
was  enthusiastic  in  his  work,  had  the  confidence  of  the 

145 


A  History  of  The    Germantown  Academy 

board,  built  up  the  school  and  then  proceeded  to 
open  a  boarding-school  of  his  own  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. 

When  the  trustees  decided  upon  their  new  plan,  it 
included  generous  consideration  for  boarding  pupils. 
Recognizing  that  local  patronage  alone  would  not 
support  the  institution,  the  board  decided  to  change 
its  character,  so  that  it  would  prove  more  inviting  and 
attractive  to  boarding  pupils.  The  agreement  with 
Howell  made  the  principal  responsible  for  collecting 
tuition,  which  was  fixed  at  $2.50,  I4,  $7.50,  $10  and 
$12.50;  the  highest  rate  including  Latin,  Greek  and 
French.  The  trustees  agreed  to  make  up  any  deficiency 
if  the  amount  should  fall  short  of  $800,  and  whatever 
there  was  collected  annually  more  than  that  sum 
should  "be  considered  the  property  of  the  principal." 

That  a  spirit  of  enterprise  had  taken  possession  of 
the  trustees  is  evident  in  their  every  action  about  this 
time.  At  the  meeting  on  February  13,  18 10,  the 
board  adopted  a  resolution  providing  for  the  purchase 
of  the  house  opposite,  belonging  to  James  Matthews, 
for  $3200,  "  in  order  to  a  more  extensive  accommoda- 
tion to  the  principal."  Richard  Bayley  and  Conrad 
Carpenter  were  authorized  to  make  the  purchase,  and 
George  Bensell,  the  secretary  of  the  board,  instructed 
to  sign  the  necessary  papers,  and  "to  secure  John 
Wister  in  the  sum  of  $1400  borrowed  from  him  for 
the  purpose  of  purchasing  the  house."  Mr. 
Matthews,  who  sold  the  house,  in  his  desire  to  en- 
courage the  Academy  in  its  policy  of  expansion,  made 
the  trustees  "  the  handsome  present  of  the  insurance  on 
the  house."     The  money  with  which  this  purchase  was 

146 


A    Period    of    Educational    Experiments 

made  was  derived  from  the  accrued  interest  on  the 
legacies  left  the  institution  and  the  rather  substantial 
rentals  paid  by  the  Philadelphia  banks  during  the 
yellow  fever  years. 

Principal  Howell  seems  to  have  won  his  way 
quickly  into  the  good  graces  of  all  concerned  with  the 
school.  In  April,  the  board  gave  him  a  vote  of 
confidence  in  recording  their  appreciation  of  his 
talents  and  industry,  "in  promoting  the  benefit  of  this 
institution,  and  agreed  to  support  him  in  all  his  proper 
exertions."  Mr.  Howell,  in  June,  asked  to  have  some 
repairs  made  to  "the  frame  building  contiguous  to  his 
dwelling  to  enable  him  to  accommodate  a  greater  num- 
ber of  boarders,"  and,  pleased  with  his  successful 
management,  the  trustees  promptly  answered  his  re- 
quest by  having  the  repairs  made  immediately.  In 
August,  at  his  request,  an  annual  vacation  of  two  weeks 
and  two  days  was  voted  to  take  efi^ect  from  "the  last 
Saturday  of  September  to  the  third  Monday  following." 

Although  there  had  been  a  bell  in  the  belfry  over 
the  Academy  since  the  year  1784,  there  evidently  had 
been  no  well-defined  rules  for  ringing  it.  From  what 
has  already  been  said  on  the  subject  it  probably  will 
be  inferred  that  the  boys  pulled  the  bell-rope  when- 
ever they  could  do  so  and  escape  undetected,  besides 
those  times  when  it  was  formally  rung  to  call  the  chil- 
dren to  their  classes.  There  was  then  no  town  clock 
in  Germantown,  although  there  were  in  that  place 
several  noted  clockmakers,  and  the  proposition  was 
made  to  the  trustees  to  have  the  bell  rung  at  certain 
times  through  the  day,  evidently  to  give  notice  of  the 
hour  to  all  in  the  town  and  its  environs. 

147 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  A cademy 

They  complied  with  the  resolution  "  that  in  future 
the  bell  shall  be  rung  one-quarter  of  an  hour  before 
eight  o'clock  until  eight  o'clock,  from  the  first  of 
April  until  the  first  of  October,  and  the  school  hours 
from  eight  to  twelve  o'clock.  The  bell  always  to  be 
rung  precisely  at  twelve  and  continued  five  minutes ; 
and  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before  two  o'clock  and  con- 
tinued ringing  until  two  o'clock  from  April  to  Octo- 
ber. From  first  of  October  to  first  of  April,  begin 
ringing  at  a  quarter  before  nine  and  at  twelve  o'clock 
as  above ;  and  at  half-past  one  and  one-half  hour  past 
four  P.  M." 

Under  the  new  plan  the  Academy  appeared  pros- 
perous, but  the  trustees  believed  it  could  be  improved, 
so  they,  at  the  meeting  held  early  in  January,  1811, 
prepared  resolutions  giving  many  suggestions  to  the 
principal.  These  resolutions  described  the  number 
and  character  of  teachers  the  principal  should  employ 
and  in  what  manner  he  should  classify  the  pupils.  He 
was  directed  "  to  permit  no  more  than  one  scholar  at 
a  time  to  go  out  of  the  school  during  school  hours," 
and  it  was  determined  that  "  a  principal  of  this  institu- 
tion be  elected  every  year  on  the  first  Monday  in 
April." 

The  committee  that  had  been  appointed  to  convey 
the  board's  action  to  Mr.  Howell  had  scarcely  per- 
formed its  duty  before  there  came  to  the  attention  of 
some  of  the  trustees  Mr.  Howell's  advertisement  of 
his  own  school.  A  hasty  call  for  a  special  meeting  was 
sent  out,  and  on  January  31st  the  board  assembled  at 
the  King  of  Prussia  Inn.  That  this  announcement 
had  given  the  trustees  cause  for  alarm  is  evident.     A 

148 


A    Period    of    Educational    Experiments 

committee  was  appointed  to  visit  the  enterprising 
principal  and  "  acquaint  him  that  this  Board  having 
unexpectedly  seen  an  advertisement  from  Mr.  Howell 
published  in  the  public  papers  announcing  his  open- 
ing a  boarding-school  at  the  house  lately  occupied  by 
Mr.  Bevardi,  they  desire  to  ascertain  at  what  time  he 
will  make  it  convenient  to  deliver  to  this  Board  the 
schoolroom  and  the  several  buildings  placed  under  his 
possession  that  belong  to  this  corporation."  Mr. 
Howell  informed  the  committee  that  he  had  fixed  the 
first  day  of  April  for  his  retirement. 

Hoping  to  win  success  by  another  change,  the 
Board  reconsidered  its  previous  decision  to  elect  a 
principal  for  a  year,  and  decided  that  his  appointment 
should  be  "during  his  good  behavior  and  due  atten- 
tion to  the  charge  committed  to  him,"  reserving  "a 
reasonable  control  and  power  of  removal  of  the 
principal  and  any  officer  appointed  under  him."  The 
trustees  also  decided  upon  a  new  plan  for  paying  the 
principal,  as  is  shown  in  their  advertisement  for  a 
successor  to  Mr.  Howell.  In  this  they  offered  a 
salary  of  $1000  a  year,  and  at  the  same  time  charged 
the  principal  $200  a  year  rental  for  all  the  buildings. 
That  they  aimed  at  Howell's  school  in  their  reduction 
in  the  charges  of  tuition  seems  a  reasonable  inference. 
For  English,  the  tuition  at  the  Academy  was  reduced 
to  $2  a  quarter. 

In  answer  to  their  advertisement  the  board  found 
itself  dealing  with  two  principals,  instead  of  one.  It 
was  a  novel  partnership  affair,  and  was  entered  into  with 
the  trustees  by  Enion  Williams  and  Stephen  H.  Long, 
who  where  to  be  co-principals,  divide  the  salary  and 

149 


A  History   of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

be  equally  responsible  for  the  rent.  That  the  board 
must  have  had  misgiving  as  to  the  success  of  the  new 
arrangement  seems  to  be  indicated  by  the  fact  that  it 
stipulated  that  the  trustees  reserved  the  right  to 
remove  either  or  both  the  co-principals,  on  three 
months'  notice  "except  in  case  of  extraordinary 
urgency,"  when  no  notice  was  to  be  required.  The 
new  principals  were  permitted  to  charge  $190  a  year 
for  boarders,  and  to  occupy  the  mansion  house,  as 
the  house  across  the  road  was  called. 

It  was  not  long  before  this  plan  of  co-principals 
was  found  to  be  as  faulty  as  many  of  the  other  schemes 
for  improving  the  school.  After  two  years  under  the 
new  conditions  the  principals  had  a  disagreement 
about  the  division  of  the  profits,  and  they  agreed  to 
dissolve  the  partnership.  Mr.  Williams  took  the 
boarding  school,  and  Mr.  Long  the  day  school.  At  the 
time  they  separated  there  were  in  the  boarding  school, 
twenty-seven  pupils;  in  the  day  school,  twenty-four, 
of  whom  thirteen  were  taking  a  classical  course;  and 
an  assistant  teacher,  B.  Carpenter,  had  under  his  charge 
fifty-seven  pupils,  of  whom  eleven  were  marked 
"gratis"  by  order  of  the  committee  on  education  of 
poor  children.  In  the  boarding  school,  Mr.  Williams 
was  teaching  English  branches  and  French.  The 
report  made  in  May  of  18 14  showed  that  there  were 
in  the  schools,  nineteen  girls,  and  the  total  number  of 
pupils  had  dropped  from  ninety-eight  in  18 13,  to 
eighty-four.  In  November  of  the  same  year  there 
were  only  seventy  in  the  schools.  About  this  time  the 
boarding  school  was  deserted,  Mr.  Williams  having 
resigned,  and  for  a  year  the  trustees  rented  the  building 

150 


A    Period    of    Educational    Experiments 

to  the  Rev.  Thomas  Dunn,  a  Presbyterian  minister, 
for  $210. 

Once  more  the  board  was  advertising  for  a 
principal,  and  this  time  they  selected  Jedediah  Strong, 
who  took  the  mansion  house  at  a  rent  of  $200,  and 
made  the  attempt  to  revive  the  town's  interest  in  the 
school,  but  evidently  without  much  success.  He  had, 
in  November,  1816,  twenty-one  pupils,  of  whom 
eleven  were  studying  Latin  ;  his  assistant,  Silas  George, 
had  thirty-eight,  but  fourteen  of  them  were  "  charity 
scholars,"  so  that  the  entire  school  had  but  fifty-nine 
pupils.  This  was  the  state  of  the  Academy  in  Febru- 
ary, 1 817,  when  Samuel  Harvey,  whose  connection  with 
the  board  lasted  over  many  years,  suggested  a  new 
plan  for  the  financial  regeneration  of  the  school.  In 
this  he  pointed  out  the  advantage  of  annual  contribu- 
tions ;  but,  if  any  relief  was  obtained  it  must  have 
been  but  temporary  in  character.  The  visiting  com- 
mittee, Samuel  Harvey  and  Benjamin  Lehman,  found 
that  the  institution  was  in  a  chaotic  condition.  They 
reported  that  "  seven  and  nine  children  were  found 
out  at  the  same  time  playing  about  the  school;"  that 
reading  and  arithmetic  were  imperfectly  taught;  in  the 
Latin  teaching  derivation  of  English  words  was  neg- 
lected, and  upon  this  the  committee  commented  that 
it  was  neglect  of  the  primary  end  of  learning  the 
dead  languages,  "  whereby  the  English  is  more  confi- 
dently and  beautifully  used."  They  also  urged  an  im- 
provement in  the  deportment  of  the  younger  boys  to 
"  the  more  aged  part  of  society,"  which  suggests  that 
some  of  the  boys  may  have  made  facetious  remarks 
about  the  committee.       The   committee    also    found 

151 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  Academy 

that  there  was  a  lack  of  dignity  and  authority  on  the 
part  of  the  teachers. 

One  of  their  remedies  was  to  have  each  teacher  take 
a  position  on  a  slightly  raised  platform,  and  require 
each  pupil  to  stand  when  reciting  his  lesson.  At  the 
next  meeting  of  the  board,  it  was  reported  by  a 
committee,  of  which  John  F.  Watson,  who  had  been 
elected  a  trustee  in  the  year  1817,  and  Michael  Riter, 
were  members,  that  there  had  been  an  improvement  in 
the  matters  previously  complained  of.  In  this  report 
mention  is  made  of  the  fact  that  Mr.  Strong  had 
engaged  a  woman  with  a  reputation  as  a  teacher,  and 
proposed  to  establish  a  "  female  school  on  his  own 
premises,  as  a  branch  of  this  institution  under  the 
guardianship  of  this  Board."  This  was  a  Miss  Riley, 
whose  efforts  failed  of  success. 

At  this  meeting  it  was  decided  to  withdraw  the 
poor  fund  left  to  the  institution,  inasmuch  as  the 
Legislature  had  made  "  a  general  provision  for  the 
schooling  of  poor  children."  The  money  thus  with- 
drawn was  to  be  deposited  to  the  commom  fund,  and 
amounted  at  this  time  to  $2738.99.  Of  this  amount, 
Paul  Engle's  legacy,  left  in  1792,  and  consisting  of 
four  ground  rents,  amounting  to  $64.36,  was  now 
estimated  to  be  valued  at  $772.32,  and  eleven  shares  in 
the  Chestnut  Hill  and  Springhouse  turnpike,  also 
bequeathed  by  the  same  benefactor,  were  valued  at 
$1100. 

Such  improvement  as  had  been  noticed  seems  to 
have  been  ineffectual  in  prolonging  the  life  of  the 
method  of  school  management  then  practiced.  In 
May,  1819,  Mr.  Strong  resigned,  leaving  rent  unpaid 

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A    Period    of    Educational    Experiments 

to  the  amount  of  $278.51.  He  became  a  magistrate  in 
Germantown  and  later  a  trustee  of  the  Academy. 
His  successor,  the  Rev.  John  R.  Goodman,  Pennsyl- 
vania, 1 8 13,  was  regarded  as  a  good  teacher,  and  he  was 
a  popular  man,  but  at  the  end  of  a  year,  he,  too, 
left  the  institution,  and  another  decade  that  at  times 
promised  great  possibilities  was  closed.  The  German 
school  was  at  an  end  forever,  subsequent  attempts  to 
resuscitate  it  proving  unavailing.  The  day  of  its 
usefulness  had  passed,  and  could  not  be  continued  by 
any  scheme  or  plan  that  its  friends  could  devise.  It 
was  during  this  period  that  a  perpetual  insurance 
on  the  schoolhouse  was  taken  in  the  Philadelphia 
Contributionship. 

These  years  of  the  history  of  the  Academy  cannot 
be  dismissed  without  making  mention  of  the  fact  that  it 
was  now  that  the  first  genuine  steps,  to  have  the  state 
carry  out  the  commands  which  will  be  found  in  Penn's 
original  charter,  to  make  education  popular,  and  free 
where  it  was  needed,  were  taken.  The  Legislature, 
almost  as  soon  as  the  province  had  become  a  state, 
recognized  its  duty  to  its  children  but  it  had,  very 
reasonably,  declared  that  it  had  not  the  money  to 
respond,  and  that  any  system  of  popular  education  at 
that  time  would  mean  an  unbearable  addition  to  the 
already  heavy  burden  of  taxes  which  the  war  necessi- 
tated, and  from  which  the  state  had  not  recovered. 
Between  the  years  18 10  and  1820,  the  friends  of  free 
education  succeeded  in  having  the  state  take  charge 
of  its  children  and  begin  to  educate  them.  The  act 
was  passed  in  the  year  18 18,  Germantown  under  it 
forming  part  of  the  sixth  section  of  the  First  School 

153 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

District.  There  was  no  system  at  the  time  that  seemed 
to  recommend  itself,  except  the  cheap  and  inefficient 
Lancastrian  system,  and  as  the  science  of  pedagogy 
was  then  so  little  understood,  it  is  not  a  source  of 
wonder  that  the  Academy  was  not  more  efficient  then 
and  fell  short  of  being  the  public  school — all  that  its 
well-wishers  and  patient  supporters  would  have  had  it. 
Throughout  the  state,  in  both  private  and  pubHc 
educational  institutions,  it  was  a  period  of  doubt  as  to 
method ;  a  time  of  construction,  with  factors  too  little 
understood,  and  a  scarcity  of  properly  trained  teachers. 


154 


CHAPTER  XI 

The  Principalships  of  John  M.  Brewer  and 
Walter  Rogers  Johnson,  i 820-1 826 

A  LTHOUGH  the  Act  which  provided  for  free 
/^L  education  in  the  state  made  provision  for 
/""^^  the  maintenance  of  a  primary  school  in 
^JLm  .^kwGermantown,  the  general  interest  then 
being  given  to  education  by  the  Legislature  seems  to 
have  permitted  the  members  of  the  Assembly  to  listen 
to  the  application  of  the  Academy  for  state  aid,  and 
for  the  first  time,  to  give  the  board  an  appropriation 
of  money.  The  amount  was  $2000,  and  it  was  regarded 
as  generous  in  those  days.  After  receipt  of  this 
money,  in  1821,  the  Academy  received  no  aid  from  the 
state  until  the  Act  of  1838  was  passed  granting  graded 
amounts  to  schools  proportionate  to  the  number  of 
their  professors  and  pupils,  and  under  certain  other 
conditions. 

The  six  years  covered  by  this  chapter  were  the 
brightest  in  the  history  of  the  Academy  from  the  years 
of  its  beginnings.  These  half-a-dozen  years,  1820- 
1826,  have  been  referred  to  as  a  brilliant  period,  and 
the  facts  appear  to  justify  this  characterization  of 
them.  The  institution  was  happy  in  its  choice  of  in- 
structors, but  no  doubt  much  of  the  prosperity  which 
followed  was  due  to  the  increased  attention  given  to 
education  generally,  as  well  as  to  the  adoption  of  more 
modern  and  even  scientific  methods  of  educational 
training.  Both  of  the  men  who  at  different  times  held 
the    position    of    principal,   were   well   equipped    not 

155 


A  History    of  The  Germantown  Academy 

merely  in  their  general  knowledge,  but  in  the  higher 
technique  of  their  profession. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Goodman  had  not  been  regarded  as 
a  permanent  principal,  and  while  he  was  nominally  in 
that  position,  the  trustees  sought  for  one  who  would 
properly  fill  the  place.  On  October  i,  1820,  they 
selected  John  M.  Brewer,  Harvard,  1804,  of  Boston, 
as  principal,  and  he  remained  for  thirteen  months, 
resigning  November  21,  1821.  Mr.  Brewer  was  a 
teacher  of  experience,  and  the  board  agreed  to  give 
him  the  salary  he  demanded,  $1200,  the  largest  salary 
the  Academy  had  ever  paid  to  any  instructor.  The 
committee  that  had  conducted  the  negotiations  had 
impressed  the  board  with  the  necessity  of  paying  this 
then  large  amount,  and  the  trustees  agreed.  In  return, 
it  was  recorded  that  Mr.  Brewer  had  "engaged  to 
take  upon  himself  the  moral  government  of  the  pupils 
as  well  in  the  hours  of  relaxation  as  in  those  devoted 
to  study."  As  the  new  headmaster  was  a  bachelor, 
the  dwelling-house  was  placed  under  the  charge  of  a 
matron,  Mrs.  Anna  Parry,  who  was  recommended  as  a 
woman  qualified  to  superintend  "a  large  boarding 
establishment."  By  way  of  encouragement  Mrs.  Parry 
was  only  charged  $140  a  year  rent,  although  her 
predecessor  had  to  pay  $200. 

Although  the  number  of  pupils  attracted  to  the 
Academy  at  the  beginning  of  this  new  regime  was  com- 
paratively small — but  thirteen  in  the  upper  school,  and 
forty-two  in  the  English  department — the  introduction 
by  Mr.  Brewer  of  rules  and  regulations  "based  upon 
laws  which  govern  Harvard  College  in  Cambridge" 
increased  the  enthusiasm  and  hopes  of  the   trustees. 

156 


John    M.     Brewer    and    Walter     Rogers     Johnson 

They  noted  the  classical  department  was  in  the  "  full 
tide  of  successful  operation,"  and  referred  to  the  rules 
as  those  of  "one  of  the  first  institutions  in  America." 
Compared  with  the  conditions  of  the  last  fifteen  years, 
the  conditions  now  surrounding  the  Academy  certainly 
were  very  much  improved  and  if  the  trustees'  minutes 
exhibited  some  exuberance  of  spirit;  there  was  justi- 
fication for  their  pride.  In  presenting  to  the  trustees 
Mr.  Brewer's  rules  and  regulations,  the  committee 
inserted  in  their  report  the  statement  that  "they  are 
perfectly  satisfied  that  with  their  encouragement  and 
co-operation  that  ere  the  termination  of  the  first 
Academic  year  they  will  be  free  to  acknowledge  that 
this  Academy  has  not  its  superior  in  the  Union." 

Inspired  by  the  new  principal's  rules  the  board 
adopted  a  code  of  laws  for  the  government  of  the 
school,  arranged  under  six  chapters  and  twenty-two 
sections.  Applicants  for  admission  to  the  school 
are  required  to  be  able  "to  read  common  English 
authors  or  the  plain  parts  of  Scripture;"  punctuality 
and  obedience  is  enjoined;  and  it  is  provided  that  "the 
Academy  shall  be  daily  opened  and  closed  by  reading 
a  portion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures."  Students  were  duty 
bound  to  attend  some  place  of  public  worship  on 
Sundays,  "and  at  other  times  set  apart  for  that 
purpose;"  two  public  examinations  during  the  year 
and  a  public  exhibition  at  the  close  of  the  academic 
year  were  prescribed;  and  the  school  year  was  defined 
as  four  terms  of  eleven  weeks  each,  a  vacation  of  one 
week  at  the  end  of  each  term,  and  four  weeks  at  the 
end  of  the  fourth  term,  with  "  the  usual  holidays  of  one 
week  at  Christmas." 

157 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

Among  other  interesting  incidents  of  this  year 
was  the  engagement  of  the  school  for  the  season, 
owing  to  the  prevalence  of  yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia, 
by  the  Bank  of  Philadelphia  and  the  Farmers'  and 
Mechanics'  Bank.  They  were  to  pay  $200  if  they 
used  the  building,  and  $100  if  they  did  not  remove  to 
the  Academy.  As  they  do  not  seem  to  have  taken  up 
quarters  there,  the  Academy's  treasury  balance  was 
increased  by  $100.  During  the  year,  also,  Charles  J. 
Wister,  to  whose  generosity,  good  taste,  and  good 
judgment  the  Academy  was  long  indebted,  gave  a 
course  of  lectures  on  geology  and  mineralogy.  To  the 
pupils  the  lectures  were  free,  but  to  others  a  fee  of  $5 
was  charged,  the  latter  "  to  be  vested  in  the  purchase 
of  a  pair  of  globes  and  needful  philosophical  apparatus  " 
for  the  use  of  the  Academy. 

In  November,  1821,  Mr.  Brewer,  at  the  height  of 
his  popularity,  resigned,  and  removed  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  to  give  lessons 
in  Latin  to  young  women,  but  in  this  he  had  only 
followed  David  James  Dove,  who  had  attempted  the 
same  work  many  years  before.  The  trustees  were 
almost  discouraged  to  learn  of  Mr.  Brewer's  desertion, 
but  he  consoled  them  by  recommending  a  friend,  a 
fellow  Harvard  man.  This  was  Walter  Rogers 
Johnson,  Harvard,  1813,  who  was  destined  to  leave 
even  a  greater  mark  upon  the  history  of  the  Academy 
during  his  eventful  and  highly  successful  five  years  of 
service  as  head  of  the  school.  He  soon  placed  the 
Academy  in  the  front  rank  of  institutions  of  its  kind. 
Popular  with  his  pupils  he  also  had  the  confidence  of 
the    trustees,    and    his    principalship    is    one    of    the 

158 


John    M.     Brewer    and    Walter    Rogers     Johnson 

brightest  periods  in  the  long  history  of  the  German- 
town  Academy. 

Walter  Rogers  Johnson  had  become  a  teacher  on 
leaving  college.  He  taught  at  Farmingham,  and  at 
Salem,  Massachusetts,  and  it  was  fresh  from  this 
apprenticeship  that  he  came  to  Germantown.  As  his 
subsequent  career  proved,  he  was  no  ordinary 
instructor,  but  so  far  as  training,  knowledge,  and 
general  capability  went,  he  was  the  most  scholarly  and 
most  efficient  master  the  Academy  had  had  up  to  this 
time. 

He  was  thoroughly  alive  to  the  value  of  higher 
education,  and  was  one  of  the  pioneers  in  the  cause  of 
higher  schools  in  Pennsylvania.  While  still  principal 
of  the  Academy,  he  issued  a  most  important  pamphlet 
advocating  the  necessity  of  establishing  normal  schools. 
He  also,  during  these  five  years,  wrote  for  the  "  Harris- 
burg  Commonwealth  "  thirteen  essays  on  education, 
and  followed  these  by  six  more  in  the  Journal  of  the 
Franklin  Institute.  His  activity  in  the  field  of  educa- 
tion seems  to  have  been  begun  almost  as  soon  as  he 
was  satisfied  that  his  Academy  in  Germantown  was 
well  on  the  road  to  achievement.  These  essays 
mentioned  were  published  in  the  years  1822  and  1823  ; 
his  pamphlet  in  1825. 

Mr.  Johnson  left  the  Academy  to  avail  himself  of 
the  larger  opportunities  the  then  lately  established 
Philadelphia  High  School  afforded.  He  entered  the 
High  School  as  instructor  in  Greek,  which,  it  is  said, 
he  taught  as  a  living  language.  A  student  of  the 
natural  sciences,  as  well  as  of  the  classics,  he  filled  the 
chair  of  mechanics  and  natural  philosophy  as  well  as 

159 


A  History    of  The  Germantown  Academy 

that  of  Greek.  In  1834,  largely  through  his  efforts, 
there  was  passed  the  Pennsylvania  School  Law,  which 
was  far  in  advance  of  any  similar  law  as  yet  enacted  in 
the  state. 

But  his  versatility  and  his  eagerness  for  new  fields 
of  activity  led  him  to  abandon  his  position  in  the  High 
School  in  1836,  and  to  begin  the  geological  survey  of 
the  coal  and  iron  formations  of  Pennsylvania.  The 
following  year  he  is  found  conducting  the  department 
of  "  magnetism,  electricity,  and  astronomy "  of  a 
United  States  exploring  expedition.  When  the 
College  of  Pennsylvania  was  formed  by  Dr.  McClellan, 
as  a  medical  department  to  the  College  of  Pennsylvania 
at  Gettysburg,  Mr.  Johnson  was  given  a  place  in  the 
faculty,  as  Professor  of  Chemistry  and  Natural  Phi- 
losophy. The  College  occupied  a  building  on  Filbert 
Street  above  Eleventh  Street,  Philadelphia,  that 
subsequently,  for  many  years,  was  the  home  of  the 
Hahnemann  Medical  College.  After  four  years  here, 
Mr.  Johnson,  with  the  rest  of  the  faculty,  resigned,  and 
the  next  year  he  was  employed  by  Congress  as  an 
expert  to  report  upon  the  relative  values  of  different 
varieties  of  coal  for  commercial  uses. 

His  activity  was  unending,  as  his  versatility  was 
unlimited,  and  next  he  is  found  as  a  scientific  expert 
for  the  naval  department.  Then  he  is  acting  as  expert 
on  the  water  supply  for  the  city  of  Boston.  Professor 
Johnson,  in  1848,  became  connected  with  the  Smith- 
sonian Institute  at  Washington  in  the  capacity  of 
chemist,  and  in  the  year  1851  represented  the  United 
States  at  the  Universal  Exhibition  at  London.  This 
was  his  last  public  employment,  and  in  1852  he  died  at 

160 


John    M.    Brewer    and    Walter    Rogers     Johnson 

Washington,  aged  58  years.  In  addition  to  the  edu- 
cational works  already  mentioned  Professor  Johnson 
was  the  author  or  translator  of  many  volumes  on  his 
favorite  branches  of  chemistry,  mineralogy  and  me- 
chanics. He  was  also  instrumental  in  founding  the 
Association  of  American  Geologists  and  Naturalists, 
and  was  elected  first  secretary  of  the  American  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Advancement  of  Science. 

From  the  beginning  of  his  connection  with  the 
Academy  Professor  Johnson  was  persistent  in  urging 
reforms  and  in  advocating  modern  methods.  That 
he  was  a  little  in  advance  of  his  time,  or  a  little  too 
new  in  his  ideas  to  convince  the  trustees  is  proven, 
perhaps,  by  three  of  them  practically  turning  a  deaf 
ear  to  his  proposals  to  install  coal-burning  stoves. 
They  did  agree,  however,  to  his  suggestion  for  in- 
creasing the  rates  of  tuition  in  the  English  department 
to  $11  and  $5,  and,  at  I  his  request,  put  that  school 
under  his  immediate  charge  ;  and  when,  evidently  upon 
his  own  authority,  coal-burning  stoves  were  installed, 
they  paid  the  bill  for  them,  I19.90,  without  a  murmur 
of  dissent. 

Professor  Johnson  was  not  duly  impressed  with  the 
importance  of  ringing  the  school  bell  at  stated  times 
during  the  day,  and  it  was  rung  irregularly.  His  lack 
of  appreciation  of  the  bell's  tones  caused  the  trustees 
to  send  a  committee  to  him  to  urge  him  to  have  the 
bell  rung  regularly,  or  to  discontinue  the  ringing. 
This  little  difference  was  the  first  that  occurred 
between  the  young  principal  and  the  trustees.  He 
refused  to  comply  with  the  wishes  of  the  board  unless 
they  furnished  him  with  a  clock  and  a  person  to  ring 

161 


A  History   of  The  German  town  Academy 

the  bell.  The  reasonableness  of  this  request  was 
admitted,  and  Mr.  Wister  purchased  for  $50  an 
excellent  clock  from  Isaiah  Luckens,  and  presented  it 
to  the  school.  This  incident  occurred  in  the  summer 
of  1825  when  the  Academy  contained  twenty-five 
pupils  in  the  academic  department  and  twelve  in  the 
preparatory  school.  In  August,  1825,  there  were 
fifty-six  pupils  under  the  care  of  the  principal,  and  in 
February,  1826,  it  was  reported  that  the  pupils  num- 
bered thirty-nine,  of  whom  eighteen  were  boarders. 
In  March,  1823,  the  English  school  was  placed  under 
Professor  Johnson's  charge,  and  later  the  boarding- 
house;  the  control  of  the  whole  school  then  being 
centered  in  the  principal. 

It  was  during  this  period  that  the  Marquis  of  La- 
fayette visited  Germantown  and  was  received  at  the 
Academy.  On  July  20,  1825,  this  "  Grandison-Crom- 
well,"  as  Macaulay  calls  him,  whom  the  nation  had  in- 
vited to  come  to  this  country  to  receive  their  blessing 
for  his  important  service  in  the  cause  of  American 
independence,  made  the  journey  to  the  little  town. 
He  had  reviewed  a  parade  that  had  accompanied  him 
from  Naglee's  Hill  to  the  centre  of  the  town ;  he  had 
breakfasted  in  the  Chew  House ;  he  had  visited  Con- 
stant's Military  Academy  at  Mount  Airy;  made  an 
inspection  at  Barren  Hill,  where  he  had  fought  nearly 
a  half-century  before,  and  had  held  a  reception  at 
Reuben  Haines's  old-world  Wyck.  He  had  had  a 
busy  day,  but  his  hosts  and  entertainers  for  the  great 
part  were  connected  with  the  Academy,  and  he  could 
not  leave  Germantown  without  visiting  the  old  school. 

The  pupils  of  the  school  and   Principal  Johnson 

162 


John    M.     Brewer    and    Walter    Rogers     Johnson 

received  him.  Professor  Johnson  made  a  happy  and 
appropriate  welcoming  address,  and  the  old  Marquis, 
after  replying,  was  introduced  to  the  pupils  one  by 
one.  When  he  was  introduced  to  Fernando  Bolivar, 
the  nephew  and  adopted  son  of  the  "  Liberator  of 
South  America,"  Simon  Bolivar,  the  visitor  was 
distinctly  interested.  He  questioned  the  lad,  then 
but  seventeen,  and  spoke  to  him  with  sympathetic 
interest  for  the  work  his  distinguished  uncle  was  doing 
in  freeing  South  America.  Lafayette  is  said  to  have 
been  pleased  with  the  boy's  replies,  and  to  have 
expressed  the  hope  that  his  education  in  the  United 
States  would  be  reflected  in  the  life  work  ahead  of  him. 
Whether  the  receipts  from  his  lectures  were 
sufficient  for  the  purpose  is  not  known,  but  in  1822 
Mr.  Wister  sent  an  order  to  London  for  "a  pair  of 
globes  of  the  best  manufacture,"  and  presented  them 
to  the  Academy.  Always  a  thoughtful  benefactor, 
Mr.  Wister  in  November  of  the  same  year  presented 
$150  worth  of  chemicals  and  chemical  apparatus  to  the 
school,  and  a  set  of  "five-feet  maps  of  Europe,  Asia, 
Africa  and  America."  In  August  of  the  following 
year,  Reuben  Haines,  in  the  name  of  William  B. 
Leibert,  presented  to  the  school  "a  spy-glass  once  the 
property  of  Dr.  Witt,  and  used  by  the  late  General 
George  Washington  in  the  Revolutionary  War."  It 
was  presented  with  the  expressed  stipulation  that  "  it 
remain  perpetually  with  the  institution."  Mr.  Leibert 
and  Mr.  Wister  had  the  instrument  put  in  complete 
repair  at  their  own  expense.  Subsequently  the  spy- 
glass was  placed  in  a  walnut  box,  and  deposited  in  a 
vault  of  the  Germantown  Bank. 

163 


A  History   of  The  German  town  Academy 

A  three-foot  reflecting  telescope  was  bought  from 
Mr.  Haines  by  the  board  in  February,  1825,  and  in 
some  manner  the  Academy  became  possessed  of  a  six- 
foot  instrument  of  the  same  style.  The  mirror  became 
tarnished,  and  although  Mr.  Wister  used  every 
exertion  to  find  some  one  in  this  country  capable  of 
polishing  it,  such  was  the  state  of  the  optician's  art 
here  then,  that  the  country,  which  today  makes  the 
telescopes  for  the  world,  could  not  put  into  workable 
condition  a  six-foot  reflector.  It  should  be  explained 
that  by  six  feet  in  this  connection  the  length  of  the 
instrument  and  not  the  diameter  of  the  mirror  is 
designated.  The  executive  committee  in  February 
of  the  year  just  mentioned,  reported  they  had  put 
upon  shelves  advantageously  arranged,  a  fine  collection 
of  minerals  belonging  to  the  institution. 

Professor  Johnson  had  been  the  first  headmaster 
at  the  Academy  who  had  a  healthy  enthusiasm  for 
these  aids  for  studying  the  natural  sciences.  He  was 
chemist,  astronomer,  geologist  and  physicist.  Is  it 
wrong  to  infer  that  the  boys  who  passed  through  the 
Academy  during  his  administration  had  a  better  and 
more  extensive  equipment  in  scientific  knowledge  than 
any  that  had  gone  before  them  ?  If  they  had  remained 
there  for  a  sufficiently  long  period  they  should  have 
gone  out  into  the  world,  no  doubt,  or  to  college,  with 
an  excellent  training  in  branches  too  little  respected  in 
those  days.  Yet,  when  Professor  Johnson  left  the 
Academy  it  had  only  thirty-nine  pupils,  including 
eighteen  boarders. 

Early  in  the  year  1826,  John  Johnson,  Jr.,  who  had 
served  the    corporation   for   almost   twenty   years   as 

164 


John    M.    Brewer    and    Walter    Rogers     Johnson 

treasurer,  an  office  of  which  his  grandfather,  Richard 
Johnson,  was  the  first  incumbent,  died  ;  and  John  F. 
Watson,  whose  financial  ability  has  been  overshadowed 
by  his  eminence  as  a  historian  in  the  minds  of  the 
majority  of  Philadelphians,  was  elected  to  fill  the 
vacancy.  Mr.  Watson  remained  the  treasurer  until 
his  final  resignation  from  the  board  in  1835. 


165 


CHAPTER  XII 
A  Critical  Period,  1826-1860 

^^S  it  was  with  the  country  generally,  so  it  was 
/^L  with  the  old  school  in  the  second  quarter 
^■■■^^  of  the  century,  and  on  to  the  outbreak  of 
.jL.  j|^»the  Civil  War.  There  was  little  that  was 
ennobling  in  our  natural  life  in  these  years  until  the 
question  of  slavery  and  the  disunion  it  threatened 
animated  life  with  great  issues.  What  culture  was 
brought  from  Europe  before  the  Revolution  was  pretty 
well  dissipated  by  1825,  and  a  native  culture  was  only 
then  coming  into  being,  and  not  yet  far  disseminated 
among  the  people.  The  school,  under  Principal 
Johnson's  regime,  had  played  its  part  in  this  great 
work,  but  under  men  who  did  not  combine  the 
knowledge  and  the  enthusiasm  and  the  energy  that 
made  him  a  force  for  the  uplift,  not  only  of  German- 
town,  but  of  all  our  neighborhood,  the  school  fell  back 
after  he  left  it  into  the  inertia  of  the  times,  and  did  not 
recover  for  any  considerable  period  until  after  1850. 

In  1826  the  nation  celebrated  its  fiftieth  birthday 
— very  sadly  it  is  true,  for  two  of  its  distinguished 
founders,  Jefferson  and  Adams,  breathed  their  last — 
and  the  country  was  entering,  as  has  been  said,  a 
period  of  social  and  political  readjustment.  In  this 
time  of  rebirth,  when  we  were  striving  in  literature  to 
show  that  no  matter  who  does  read  an  American  book, 
everybody  might  do  so  ;  in  art,  that  we  had  a  school 
that  was  native  and  by  no  means  contemptible;  and  in 
all  the  fields  of  national  endeavor  that  we  had  justified 

166 


A    Critical  Period 

ourselves  in  the  belief  that  we  could  stand  alone — in 
this  time  the  Academy  made  little  headway.  The 
country  had  more  than  doubled  its  territory  in  its  fifty 
years,  and  the  population  was  five-fold  what  it  was  at 
the  close  of  the  Revolution.  Only  a  few  years  before 
an  American  President,  confident  of  the  strength  and 
substantial  character  of  our  political  institutions,  had 
warned  Europe  that  we  were  masters  of  the  American 
continents;  and  English  and  French  travelers,  marvel- 
ing at  our  progress  and  amazed  at  our  self-possession, 
were  even  then  packing  their  trunks  and  sharpening 
their  pencils  preparatory  to  a  visit  to  the  wonderful 
and  sturdy  nation,  to  study  it  at  first  hand. 

It  was  a  period  when  we  were  opening  our  eyes,  not 
alone  to  the  value  of  education,  which  for  some  years 
we  had  treated  as  a  side  issue  of  our  national  life,  but 
to  the  importance  of  our  marvelous  natural  and 
material  resources.  Compared  with  those  of  the 
present  day,  the  changes  then  taking  place  were  re- 
vealed slowly ;  but  compared  with  the  fifty  years  that 
had  preceded  them,  they  were  passing  over  the  land 
with  a  swiftness  that  to  many  was  alarming. 

Professor  Johnson  had  left  the  institution  August 
8,  1826,  and,  as  he  probably  had  given  the  board 
ample  notification  of  his  intention,  they  were  able  to 
secure  his  successor  on  August  21st.  A  circular  issued 
this  season,  dated  September  i,  1826,  gives  some  inter- 
esting particulars  of  the  methods  then  in  vogue  at  the 
Academy.  The  circular  is  signed  by  Benjamin  Chew, 
Samuel  Harvey,  Charles  J.  Wister,  Reuben  Haines, 
John  F.  Watson,  James  S.  Duval  and  Jedediah  Strong, 
and   refers   to   the  Academy   as   a  seminary  "  now  in 

167 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

operation  under  the  superintendence  of  J.  G.  Cooper, 
A.  M.,  a  gentleman  of  much  experience  in  teach- 
ing ;  and  the  trustees  have  reason  to  expect  the  highest 
advantage  from  his  character  and  attainments." 

"  Students  designed  for  the  university  will  be  pre- 
pared," it  is  announced,  "  if  required,  to  enter  the  ad- 
vanced classes,"  and  the  general  course  was  stated  to 
be  such  as  to  prepare  young  men  "  for  pursuing  with 
credit  any  of  the  learned  professions."  Mention  is 
made  of  the  library,  the  collection  of  minerals,  "  and 
engravings  upon  classical  subjects,  to  aid  them  (the 
pupils)  in  the  study  of  ancient  history,  mythology  and 
general  literature." 

The  boarding  department  was  announced  as  being 
under  the  care  of  a  matron  "  well  qualified  for  the 
business  ;  and  the  moral  deportment  of  the  boarders 
will  always  be  under  the  immediate  inspection  of  the 
principal."  The  rate  of  boarding  was  $i  lo  per  annum 
"  for  youths  under  12  years  of  age,  and  $135  for  those 
above  that  age,  payable  quarterly  in  advance,  exclusive 
of  bed,  bedding  and  washing."  It  was  also  announced 
in  the  circular  that  "  arrangements  will  be  made  for 
the  French  and  Spanish  languages  the  ensuing  season," 
and  the  vacations  are  described  as  four  weeks, 
"  divided  in  two  parts:  the  first  vacation  to  commence 
on  the  first  Monday  of  October,  and  to  continue  two 
weeks ;  the  second  to  commence  on  the  first  Monday 
of  April,  and  to  continue  the  same  length  of  time ; 
when  public  examinations  shall  take  place,  and  a  dis- 
tribution of  suitable  premiums."  Two  paragraphs 
are  devoted  to  the  delightful  situation  of  the  Academy 
"  a  little  retired  from  the  village,"  which  is  described 

168 


A    Critical  Period 

as  an  agreeable  retreat  for  those  families  who  want  to 
be  near  their  children. 

Mr.  Cooper  did  not  stay  a  year,  being  asked  to 
resign  the  following  June,  although  for  what  reasons 
is  not  very  clear.  The  Academy,  under  his  manage- 
ment, began  its  school  year  with  thirty-five  pupils. 
During  the  next  few  years  there  was  a  succession  of 
principals.  In  February,  1828,  under  the  principalship 
of  George  R.  Giddings,  it  was  reported  the  number 
of  pupils  had  been  increased  to  fifty,  of  whom  twelve 
were  in  the  classical  department.  This  year  saw  a 
further  increase,  and  in  November  there  were  thirty-four 
in  the  English  and  thirty-one  in  the  classical  depart- 
ment. Under  this  prosperity  the  trustees  felt 
justified  in  charging  the  principal  $100  a  year 
rent  for  the  mansion,  having  given  the  house  to  him 
free  of  rent  during  the  early  months  of  his  principal- 
ship.  In  November,  1828,  the  board  noted  the  pur- 
chase of  a  lot  from  the  estate  of  Dr.  George  Bensell, 
for  $110,  but  gave  no  indication  of  its  location. 

This  period  of  prosperity  was  very  short  lived,  so 
brief,  in  fact,  that  in  1830,  we  find  the  school  run 
down,  and  Mr.  Giddings  resigning.  He  retired 
April  I,  1830,  and  was  succeeded  May  3d  by  Moses 
Soule,  of  Bowdoin  College,  whose  record  was  even  less 
brilliant,  for  he  remained  only  ten  months. 

About  this  time  there  seems  to  have  been  made  a 
new  attempt  to  make  the  Academy  co-educational,  and 
we  find  Theodore  Russell  Jenks  appointed  principal 
of  the  boys'  department,  and  William  Russell  and 
Amos  Alcott  principals  of  the  girls'  department. 
Russell  was  a  Harvard  man,  a  graduate  of  1826,  and  a 

169 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

disciple  of  Pestalozzi,  and  Alcott  was  none  other  than 
the  "  Orphic  one,"  A.  Bronson  Alcott,  who  is  best 
remembered  under  that  name.  This  notable  and  most 
eccentric  educator  came  to  the  Academy  March  i, 
1 83 1,  but  his  connection  with  the  institution  seems  to 
have  been  of  short  duration.  Alcott  came  to  Phil- 
adelphia in  the  year  1830,  and  opened  a  private  school 
on  Eighth  Street,  below  Walnut,  in  the  building  now 
numbered  222.  As  one  of  his  pupils  at  this  time  was 
Charles  Godfrey  Leland,  we  fortunately  have  a  lively 
picture  of  Alcott  in  Leland's  "  Memoirs." 

"  Mr.  Alcott,"  he  wrote,  "  was  the  most  eccentric 
man  who  ever  took  it  upon  himself  to  train  and  form 
the  youthful  mind.  He  did  not  really  teach  any 
practical  study ;  there  was,  indeed,  some  pretence  at 
geography  and  arithmetic,  but  these  we  were  allowed 
to  neglect  at  our  own  sweet  will.  His  forte  was 
*  moral  influence '  and  '  sympathetic  intellectual  com- 
munion '  by  talking ;  and,  oh,  heaven !  what  a  talker 
he  was !  He  was  then  an  incipient  transcendentalist, 
and  he  did  not  fail  to  discover  in  me  the  seeds  of  the 
same  plant.  He  declared  that  I  had  a  marvellous 
imagination,  and  encouraged  my  passion  for  reading 
anything  and  everything  to  the  very  utmost.  It  is  a 
fact  that  at  nine  years  of  age  his  disquisitions  on  and 
readings  from  Spenser's  '  Faerie  Queen '  actually 
induced  me  to  read  the  entire  work,  of  which  he  was 
very  proud.  .  .  .  He  also  read  thoroughly  for  us 
the  '  Pilgrim's  Progress,'  Quarles's  '  Emblems,'  North- 
cote's  '  Fables,'  much  Shakespeare,  Wordsworth, 
Coleridge  and  Milton,  all  of  which  sunk  into  my  very 
soul,  educating  me  indeed  '  ideally'  as  no  boy,  perhaps, 

170 


A    Critical  Period 

in  Philadelphia  had  ever  been  educated,  at  the  utter 
cost  of  all  '  education.' 

"  Then  I  was  removed,  and  with  good  cause,  from 
Mr.  Alcott's  school,  for  he  had  become  so  very  '  ideal ' 
or  eccentric  in  his  teaching  and  odd  methods  of 
punishment  by  tormenting  without  ever  whipping,  that 
people  could  not  endure  his  purely  intellectual  system." 

It  is  not  quite  clear  whether  Alcott  went  to  the 
Academy  before  he  opened  his  own  school  in  Eighth 
Street,  or  that  when  he  came  to  Philadelphia  he 
appeared  first  in  Germantown  as  a  schoolmaster.  From 
Leland's  statement  about  being  nine  years  old  at  the 
time,  it  would  seem  that  he  was  writing  of  the  year  1833, 
which  was  after  Alcott's  connection  with  the  Academy. 
It  is  well  known  that  in  1832,  when  his  daughter,  Louise 
M.  Alcott,  was  born,  Alcott  lived  in  "  Pine  Place,"  an 
old  house  that  long  ago  was  demolished  in  order  to 
make  place  for  Masonic  Hall,  5423-5-7  Main  Street, 
Germantown,  where  the  transcendentalist  kept  a  girls' 
school  for  some  time.  From  the  quotation  from 
Leland's  "  Memoirs,"  it  is  not  difficult  to  account  for 
his  short  stay  at  the  Academy,  where  this  sort  of 
"  ideal  education  "  was  in  little  demand. 

From  this  time,  1831  to  1836,  the  depressed  state 
of  the  Academy  was  frequently  discussed  by  the 
trustees.  Master  after  master  resigned  or  was 
removed,  and  various  efforts  were  made  to  rehabilitate 
the  school,  but  evidently  to  little  purpose.  In 
February,  1834,  John  F.  Watson  proposed,  in  view 
of  the  numerous  and  ineffectual  attempts  made  to 
sustain  a  boarding  house,  that  the  premises  where  the 
boarders  had  been  domiciled   be  advertised  for  sale. 

171 


A  History  of  The  Germ antown  Academy 

He  also  proposed  that  a  man  be  employed  to  reside  in 
one  of  the  wings  and  teach  the  classics  for  $6  a  quarter. 
The  outlook  was  exceedingly  unpromising,  but  Mr. 
Watson's  ideas  of  reform  were  not  shared  by  his  fellow 
trustees.  It  is  to  be  doubted  if  Mr.  Watson  was  more 
sympathetic  to  an  innovation  accomplished  at  this  time 
than  were  his  fellow  trustees  to  his  proposed  cheap- 
ening of  the  school's  teaching.  This  was  the  recasting 
of  the  school's  old  bell.  From  the  report  made  by  the 
committee — Charles  J.  Wister  and  John  Smith — to 
superintend  the  work  at  the  meeting  on  February  3, 
1834,  it  is  learned  that  the  original  bell  weighed  284 
pounds,  and  in  the  recasting  additional  material  was 
mixed  with  the  old  metal  and  the  recast  bell  weighed 
315  pounds.  The  casting  was  executed  at  a  cost  of 
$73.20.  John  C.  Whitehead  of  St.  Edmond's  Hall, 
Oxford,  was  elected  principal  in  May,  1834,  and  found 
only  seven  pupils  in  the  classical  school.  He  was 
discouraged  and  resigned,  to  be  succeeded  in  Sep- 
tember, 1834,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Christian  F.  Cruse, 
Pennsylvania,  18 15,  who  stayed  but  a  year.  In  March, 
1836,  it  was  reported  the  Academy  had  fifty  pupils  in 
the  preparatory  department,  of  whom  thirteen  were  on 
the  poor  list,  and  fourteen  on  county  rates. 

During  this  period  of  depression  a  very  liberal 
offer  for  union  came  to  the  board  from  the  trustees  of 
Haddington  College.  This  institution  was  estab- 
lished by  the  Baptist  Church  in  Philadelphia  in  1832 
to  educate  its  youth  generally,  and  particularly  those 
young  men  who  desired  to  become  ministers.  It  was 
located  in  the  little  village  of  Haddington,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the   present   Sixty-third   Street  and 

172 


A    Critical  Period 

Haverford  Avenue.  On  the  maps  of  the  period  or  a 
little  later,  the  location  is  designated  as  the  site  of  the 
"  Academy,"  as  the  college  was  locally  known. 

Briefly,  the  proposition  put  before  the  Trustees  of 
the  Germantown  Academy  at  a  special  meeting  held 
June  30,  1836,  may  be  reduced  to  this  :  The  two  insti- 
tutions were  to  unite.  Haddington  College  would 
sell  its  property,  and  the  amalgamated  institutions, 
under  the  style  of  the  Germantown  College  in  the 
County  of  Philadelphia,  would  occupy  the  buildings 
of  the  Germantown  Academy.  In  addition  to  selling 
its  property,  the  College  promised  to  obtain  a  grant 
from  the  Legislature,  which  it  was  estimated  would 
bring  to  the  help  of  the  Academy  about  |i 6,000, 
and  the  new  College  would  have  back  of  it  the  power- 
ful aid  and  encouragement  of  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant denominations  in  the  country.  In  order  that  the 
proposal  might  be  shown  to  be  most  liberal  and  broad 
it  its  scope,  Haddington  College  offered  to  buy  the 
boarding  house  and  maintain  its  theological  seminary 
there,  while  the  instruction  in  the  "Academy"  proper, 
both  in  school  and  college,  should  be  free  from  any 
tinge  of  sectarian  bias  or  denominational  teachings. 
For  the  use  of  the  Academy  buildings  it  proposed  to 
pay  rent. 

From  the  vote  taken  on  the  proposition,  it  is 
shown  that  the  majority  of  the  trustees  viewed  the 
union  with  favor.  On  the  resolution  to  unite  with 
Haddington  College  to  secure  the  necessary  changes 
in  their  respective  charters,  the  vote  at  first  stood  six 
in  favor  and  nine  against  the  resolution.  But  on  a 
resolution,  proposed  by  Samuel  Harvey,  and  seconded 

173 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

by  Charles  J.  Wister,  "  that  this  board  will  take  such 
order  on  the  foregoing  report  (the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee on  conference)  as  will  enable  the  institution 
under  our  care  to  embrace  the  benefit  of  the  patronage 
of  the  Baptist  Association  in  the  United  States,  or 
such  part  thereof  as  may  be  disposed  to  patronize  it," 
the  vote  stood  nine  in  favor  and  six  against  the 
resolution. 

Following  this  motion  came  a  resolution  to  sell  the 
boarding  house  to  the  Haddington  College  trustees, 
and  lease  them  "  the  schoolhouse,  out-houses  and  lots 
of  ground  appertaining  thereto,  together  with  the 
furniture,  library,  cabinet  of  minerals  and  philosophical 
apparatus  for  twenty-one  years."  A  committee  to 
bring  about  the  union,  consisting  of  Charles  J.  Wister, 
Samuel  Harvey,  Dr.  W.  N.  Johnson  and  Jedediah 
Strong,  was  appointed.  Mr.  Wister,  Mr.  Harvey 
and  John  Rodney  had  formed  the  committee  originally 
appointed  for  conference  with  a  committee  from  Had- 
dington College. 

Then  the  storm  broke.  The  minority  had  no  in- 
tention of  disposing  of  their  property  in  the  manner 
suggested.  They  stood  upon  principle,  and  for  the 
independence  of  their  institution.  What  is  more,  they 
found  they  had  the  backing  of  the  whole  of  German- 
town.  The  agitation  that  followed  broke  up,  tempo- 
rarily, the  tranquillity  of  the  little  town.  Haddington 
College  offered  $4000  for  the  boarding  house,  an  offer 
which  then  was  regarded  as  generous,  but  the  people 
of  Germantown  did  not  want  it  sold,  and  the  whole 
project  fell  through,  the  people  obtaining  an  amend- 
ment to  the  Academy's  charter,  which  made  all  citizens 

174 


A    Critical  Period 

of  Germantown  township  legal  voters  for  trustees  of 
the  Academy,  instead  of  confining  those  voters  to 
contributors  only,  and  voting  the  consolidation  scheme 
down,  through  a  board  elected  under  this  amend- 
ment. Haddington  College  continued  in  its  old  loca- 
tion until  1846,  when  Lewisburg  University  (now 
Bucknell)  was  established  and  became  its  successor. 

After  the  storm  blew  over  the  trustees  found  the 
Academy  where  it  was  before.  The  prospect  was  any- 
thing but  bright  or  reassuring.  There  were  eleven  clas- 
sical pupils  and  thirty-three  in  the  primary  department. 
There  was  also  the  inevitable  change  in  the  faculty. 
A  new  eflfort  was  made  to  make  prosperous  the  insti- 
tution. Repairs  to  the  amount  of  $1045.25  were 
made ;  Rev.  Henry  K.  Green  was  appointed  principal, 
Eugene  Smith  having  been  removed.  These  changes 
or  other  circumstances,  probably  the  advertising  the 
Academy  received  during  the  Haddington  College 
agitation,  caused  a  notable  revival  of  interest,  and  the 
number  of  pupils  for  a  short  time  was  100. 

The  Academy,  also,  about  this  time  began  to 
receive  welcome  state  aid.  In  1838,  by  a  general  act 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  appropriations  to 
schools  and  colleges  in  the  state  were  made  under  cer- 
tain conditions.  The  appropriations  ranged  from 
$300  a  year  for  an  institution  of  one  or  more  professors 
and  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  pupils,  to  $100  for  those 
employing  four  or  more  instructors  and  maintaining  100 
or  more  pupils.  The  Academy's  portion,  under  this 
appropriation  was  $500  a  year.  This  aid  continued  to 
be  I500  a  year  until  1843,  when,  under  the  weight  of 
burdens    already  too  heavy,  the   appropriations  were 

175 


A  History    of  The  G ermantown  A cademy 

cut  in  half  by  the  Assembly,  and   the  following  year 
withdrawn. 

In  1842  the  controllers  of  the  public  schools,  who 
had  been  maintaining  a  school  in  Germantown,  offered 
the  Academy  $500  a  year  rent  for  the  schoolhouse, 
but  at  that  time  it  was  receiving  as  much  as  a  gratuity 
and  as  an  aid  in  carrying  on  its  own  work,  and  so  the 
offer  was  declined. 

Benjamin  Chew,  son  of  Justice  Chew,  and  owner  of 
Cliveden,  who  for  over  thirty-eight  years  had  been 
president  of  the  board  of  trustees,  died  in  1844.  His 
loss  was  so  keenly  felt  by  that  body  that  they  spread 
upon  their  minutes,  at  their  meeting  May  13th  of  that 
year,  this  appreciation  of  his  worth,  and  of  his  truly 
remarkable  term  of  service  : 

"  The  president  having  communicated  to  this 
board  that  on  the  30th  day  of  last  month,  Benjamin 
Chew,  Esquire,  our  late  president,  departed  this  life 
in  his  eighty-sixth  year  of  age,  wherefore,  Resolved,  that 
there  be  recorded  on  the  minutes  of  this  board  in  testi- 
mony of  him,  that  since  the  3rd  day  of  July,  1 805 ,  he  has 
been  unanimously  elected  president  from  year  to  year. 
His  amiability  of  manner  endeared  him  to  his  associ- 
ates in  the  board.  He  unwaveringly  manifested  deep 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  institution,  and  that  this 
board  lament  his  departure  and  do  most  sensibly 
sympathize  with  his  afflicted  family  in  their  grief  and 
irreparable  loss." 

From  1843  ^'^til  1850  William  M.  Collom,  who  had 
been  an  assistant  instructor  from  1836  to  1839,  was 
the  principal  of  the  Academy,  having  continued  longer 
in  that  position  than  any  of  his  predecessors.     After 

176 


A    Critical  Period 

the  resignation  of  Alfred  J.  Perkins,  who  soon  tired 
of  the  position,  the  board  advertised  for  a  successor. 
There  were  seven  applicants,  but  none  of  them  met 
the  requirements  of  the  trustees,  so  that  body  decided 
upon  Mr.  Collom,  whose  work  was  known  to  them. 
When  he  took  charge  in  August,  1843,  ^^e  Academy 
had  sixty  pupils,  of  which  number  twenty  were  board- 
ing students.  But  once  again,  by  degrees,  the  num- 
ber in  the  school  gradually  diminished,  until  in  1849 
there  were  only  thirty-four  pupils,  twenty-eight  of 
whom  were  boarders.  The  boarding-school  during 
this  period  seems  to  have  thriven  better  than  the  day- 
school,  for  we  read  that  in  1846  additions  costing 
$785.41  were  made  to  the  mansion  house.  But  this 
expense  was  no  sooner  incurred  than  the  number  of 
boarders  decreased,  only  thirteen  pupils  being  re- 
ported in  that  part  of  the  Academy,  It  is  not  to  be 
wondered  that  Mr.  Collom  resigned  in  the  year  1849. 
His  was  a  most  discouraging  experience  ;  but,  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  board,  he  reconsidered  his  intention 
and  remained.  Even  in  this  act  he  was  unfortunate, 
for  opposition  to  him  developed  in  the  board,  and  in 
1850  his  resignation  was  requested. 

That  the  plan  brought  forth  in  the  year  1850  was 
as  little  efficacious  as  any  of  those  that  had  been  tried 
before  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  during  the  next  three 
years  there  was  a  succession  of  masters  in  the  Academy. 
Those  who  were  not  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  removed 
by  the  board  evidently  were  glad  enough  to  resign. 

Wyndham  H.  Stokes  was  elected  president  of  the 
board  in  April,  1850,  upon  the  death  of  Charles  M. 
Stokes,  and  he  immediately  set  about  accomplishing 

177 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

the  reorganization  of  the  Academy.  The  plan  put 
into  effect  by  the  board,  under  the  new  leadership, 
abolished  the  position  of  principal  and  made  the 
instructors  in  the  institution  directly  responsible  to  a 
committee  of  the  trustees.  Having  perfected  this 
invention,  the  board  advertised  for  a  teacher  "  of  the 
classical,  grammar,  and  primary  departments."  They 
received  fifty  applications.  Three  teachers  were  selected, 
and  the  new  plan  was  put  into  execution  with  five 
pupils  in  the  classical  department,  eighteen  in  the 
grammar,  and  a  like  number  in  the  primary  depart- 
ments; nine  of  the  latter  on  the  poor  fund.  The 
classical  school  failed,  and  was  discontinued  until 
February,  1851. 

The  treasury  of  the  corporation  became  so  short  of 
funds  that  it  was  difficult  to  obtain  the  necessary  relief. 
A  permanent  loan  of  $1200  on  mortgage  was  secured 
in  February,  1852.  The  mansion  house  was  prepared 
for  two  families  in  order  to  increase  the  income  of  the 
school  from  rent.  There  was  also  added  to  the 
treasury  $450  paid  in  damages  for  opening  Green 
Street  through  a  part  of  the  school  property,  but 
against  these  acquired  moneys,  repairs  costing  $1278.70 
had  to  be  paid  for. 

Having  been  unfortunate  in  their  plan  for  reorgani- 
zation, which,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  disorganized  the 
institution,  and  caused  a  decline  that  for  a  while  was 
alarming,  the  board  was  glad  to  accede  to  the  appli- 
cation of  J.  H.  Withington,  who,  in  October,  1853, 
asked  to  be  appointed  principal.  Their  choice  was  a 
wise  one,  and  for  ten  years,  or  until  the  time  of  his 
resignation,  the  school  was  prosperous. 

178 


A    Critical   Period 

The  plan  followed  by  the  trustees  in  their  dealings 
with  Mr.  Withington  was  to  give  him  the  proceeds  of 
tuition  and  a  cash  payment  of  $300,  to  enable  him  to 
meet  the  expenses  of  running  the  Academy.  From 
time  to  time  the  board  requested  him  to  give  them  a 
report  on  the  condition  of  the  schools,  but  Mr. 
Withington  was  rather  dilatory  in  complying  with 
these  requests.  In  May,  1856,  however,  he  reported 
an  attendance  of  seventy  pupils,  and  in  February,  1857, 
he  announced  eighty  pupils  in  the  schools.  In  July,  1856, 
he  was  given  possession  of  the  mansion  house,  at  a 
yearly  rental  of  $400,  and  the  cash  compensation  was 
discontinued. 

In  1857  gas  was  introduced  into  the  Academy  at 
the  request  of  the  principal.  What  the  school  was  in 
those  days  is,  of  course,  still  common  property  in 
Germantown,  but  as  a  matter  of  record  as  well  as  for 
its  inherent  interest,  a  letter  of  Mr.  E.  I.  H.  Howell, 
giving  his  reminiscences  of  his  years  at  the  Academy, 
is  here  appended : 

"  My  memories  of  the  Germantown  Academy  are 
of  the  years  1855  and  1856 — Withington  was  the 
headmaster,  with  a  Mr.  Wilder  and  a  Mr.  Wood  as 
assistants.  There  were  about  eighty  boys  in  the  school, 
and  we  occupied  the  two  lower  rooms  in  the  old  build- 
ing, the  upper  rooms  being  used  for  class  rooms. 

"  Mr.  Withington  was  an  excellent  teacher,  but  a 
severe  disciplinarian ;  using  the  ferrule,  or  ruler,  and 
sometimes  the  birch,  with  freedom.  He  was  most 
impartial,  however,  in  his  dispensation  of  punishment, 
his  own  son  being  more  frequently  brought  to  judg- 
ment than  any  other  scholar. 

179 


A  History   of   The  Germantown  Academy 

"  Latin  and  Greek  were  the  studies  most  emphasized, 
English  branches  being  thought  less  important,  and 
scientific  studies  hardly  known.  As  I  was  a  very  small 
boy  in  those  days,  my  recollections  must  be  of  the 
primary  school — where  we  recited  our  geography 
lessons  in  a  sort  of  a  chant,  all  the  class  in  unison. 

"  The  games  we  played  were  the  old  ball  games, 
two  old  cat,  rounders,  and  the  old  football  game  with 
a  rubber  ball  which  was  kicked.  Baseball  and  cricket 
were  unknown  to  the  school  in  1855.  There  were 
great  times  in  the  winter,  when  we  built  snow  forts, 
and  had  fierce  battles  with  snowballs;  pretty  rough  fun, 
in  which  almost  always  some  boys  were  hurt.  There 
was  no  effort,  as  I  remember,  to  organize  athletic  games 
by  the  school,  or  to  compete  with  other  schools. 

"  The  Germantown  Academy  '  school  spirit ' 
known  so  well  to  the  present  generation  was  not  in 
evidence  in  1856.  There  were  no  classes  to  graduate 
in  the  days  of  1855 — we  came  to  the  school  and  stayed 
such  times  as  our  parents  desired  and  then  left." 

During  Mr.  Withington's  principalship  the  cen- 
tenary of  the  Academy  was  celebrated.  There  was 
some  uncertainty  as  to  when  the  celebration  should  be 
held,  and  to  settle  this  vexed  question  a  committee 
consisting  of  the  president,  W.  H.  Stokes,  A. 
Mclntyre,  the  Rev.  C.  W.  SchaefTer,  and  T.  R.  Fisher, 
was  appointed  at  a  meeting,  November  14,  1859,  to 
review  the  original  papers  in  the  possession  of  the 
trustees  and  fix  the  time  for  the  celebration.  One 
member  of  the  board,  C.  F.  Ashmead,  proposed 
December  6,  1859,  as  the  proper  date  to  be  celebrated. 
Later,  the  Rev.  Mr.  SchaeflFer  suggested  January  25,  i860, 

180 


A    Critical   Period 

as  an  appropriate  day.  There  was  a  meeting  on  Decem- 
ber 6th,  but  no  celebration.  A  special  meeting  of  the 
board,  held  on  January  2,  i860,  resolved  that  "the 
first  day  of  January,  i860,  is  the  centennial  anniversary 
of  the  Public  School  of  Germantown,"  and  the  board 
requested  the  committee  on  Centennial  to  report  at  the 
February  meeting  a  suitable  preamble  and  resolutions, 
to  be  placed  upon  the  minutes  in  regard  to  the 
centenary  celebration. 

The  committee  made  a  lengthy  and  comprehensive 
report  at  the  meeting  in  February.  The  report,  signed 
by  Thomas  R.  Fisher,  Archibald  Mclntyre,  and  the 
Rev.  C.  W.  Schaeffer,  was  adopted  and  the  sugges- 
tions faithfully  followed.  As  this  report  has  historical 
value  as  a  document  it  is  preserved  here : 

"  The  committee  appointed  by  the  trustees  of  the 
public  school  of  Germantown  to  draft  a  suitable  pre- 
amble and  resolutions  relative  to  the  centennial  anni- 
versary beg  leave  to  report : 

"That,  as  the  period  of  the  hundredth  year  since 
the  commencement  by  our  forefathers  of  organization 
into  a  body  for  collecting  funds  and  taking  all  intu- 
itive steps  to  build  the  present  noble  structure  of  the 
public  school,  and  opening  it  for  instruction,  has  ap- 
proached, the  present  board  of  trustees  have  not  been 
unmindful  that  they  are  called  upon  by  private  feel- 
ing, as  well  as  public  duty,  to  celebrate  in  a  suitable 
manner  the  centennial  anniversary  of  its  commence- 
ment. And  by  so  doing  to  testify  to  the  high  respect 
with  which  we  look  to  the  labors  of  that  noble  band 
who  conceived  and  carried  into  execution  the  present 
building,  a  monument  of  their  energy  and  benevolence, 

181 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

which  has  tended  more,  perhaps,  than  any  other  event 
to  place  Germantown,  in  point  of  intelligence,  among 
the  first,  if  not  the  very  first,  suburban  village  in  the 
United  States. 

"  It  was  therefore  agreed  by  the  committee  that  we 
request  Sidney  George  Fisher,  who  had  participated 
in  the  advantages  of  the  institution,  to  deliver  an  ad- 
dress on  the  occasion,  which  duty  he  accepted. 

"And  in  order  to  give  the  citizens  of  Germantown 
an  opportunity  to  unite  with  the  trustees  in  a  suitable 
celebration,  it  was  resolved  by  the  board  of  trustees 
that  a  public  meeting  be  called  on  the  6th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1859,  that  being  the  expiration  of  one  hundred 
years  since  the  first  meeting,  preparatory  to  an  organi- 
zation, was  held  at  the  house  of  Daniel  Mackinett,  in 
Germantown.  In  pursuance  of  that  call,  the  meeting 
was  held  at  the  Town  Hall,  and  was  organized  by  the 
appointment  of  John  S.  Littell  as  president,  who  was 
desired  to  appoint  a  committee  to  unite  with  the  board 
of  trustees  in  encouragement  for  a  suitable  demonstra- 
tion for  the  occasion.  .  .  .  At  that  meeting  it  was 
resolved  that  in  furtherance  of  the  views  of  the  trus- 
tees, the  first  day  of  January,  i860,  will  be  the  centen- 
nial anniversary  of  the  organization  of  the  Public 
School ;  and  it  was  further  resolved,  that  in  conse- 
quence of  that  day  coming  on  the  Sabbath,  and  the 
inclement  season  of  the  year,  that  the  celebration  shall 
be  held  on  the  21st  day  of  April  next,  that  being  the 
centennial  of  laying  the  four  cornerstones  of  the 
building.  The  committee,  therefore,  in  obedience  to 
the  object  of  their  appointment,  respectfully  propose 
the  following  for  the  action  of  the  board  of  trustees : 

182 


A    Critical  Period 

"  Resolved,  that  the  centennial  anniversary  be  held 
on  the  2 1  St  day  of  April,  in  the  Town  Hall,  at — P.  M., 
where  the  trustees  will  assemble  with  the  citizens  and 
friends  of  the  school,  to  hear  an  address  by  Sidney 
George  Fisher. 

"  Resolved,  that  the  body  of  the  trustees  will 
assemble  at  the  Academy,  at  —  of  the  aforesaid  day, 
and  with  the  teachers  and  pupils  of  the  school  will 
walk  in  procession  to  the  Town  Hall. 

"  Resolved,  that  the  secretary  give  public  notice  of 
the  day  and  hour  of  the  celebration,  in  the  German- 
town  '  Telegraph,'  '  United  States  Gazette,'  '  Press  ' 
and  '  Evening  Bulletin,'  and  that  the  citizens  generally, 
and  the  alumni  in  particular,  be  invited  to  attend. 

"  Resolved,  that  if  any  of  the  friends  of  the  school 
should  make  arrangements  for  such  a  collation  as  may 
accord  with  the  dignity  of  the  Academy  and  the 
proprieties  of  the  occasion,  the  trustees  will  hold 
themselves  in  readiness  to  give  it  their  acquiescence." 

From  John  S.  Littell's  history  of  this  anniversary 
celebration,  it  seems  that  the  first  idea  of  it  was  due  to 
Wyndham  H.  Stokes,  the  president  of  the  board 
of  trustees,  who,  in  February,  1855,  called  attention 
to  the  coming  of  the  centennial,  and  suggested 
that  a  committee  examine  the  records  "  and 
ascertain  if  there  be  any  matters  of  permanent  interest, 
worthy  of  publication."  The  committee  was  ap- 
pointed but  it  failed  to  make  a  report.  This  failure 
led  to  the  revival  of  the  subject  in  February,  1859,  and 
the  matter  was  further  forwarded  at  meetings  held  in 
November  and  December  of  that  year,  as  has  been 
related,  and  finally  outlined  and  decided  upon  in  Janu- 
ary of  i860. 

183 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

There  should  be  some  historic  interest  in  preserving 
the  names  of  the  board  of  trustees  in  office  at  the  time 
the  Academy  was  celebrating  the  completion  of  its  first 
hundred  years  of  usefulness,  so  they  are  repeated  here  : 
C.  F.  Ashmead,  Frederick  Heyl,  P.  H.  Coulter, 
WiUiam  Green,  Frederick  Emhardt,  J.  K.  Gamble, 
T.  B.  Butcher,  Albert  Ashmead,  Joseph  Handsberry, 
A.  Mclntyre,  Wyndham  H.  Stokes,  C.  P.  Henry, 
F.  W.  Bockius,  Edward  Royal,  the  Rev.  Charles  W. 
Schaeffer,  W.  R.  Fry,  Benjamin  Lehman,  J.  C.  Chan- 
non,  T.  R.  Fisher,  David  Bowman  and  Dr.  William 
Ashmead. 

April  21,  i860,  fell  on  Saturday,  and  such  a  Satur- 
day, it  would  seem  from  the  account  of  it  written  by 
Mr.  Littell,  the  town  had  never  experienced.  "No 
event  has  ever  occurred  in  Germantown,"  he  begins, 
"causing  greater  sensation,  or  exciting  such  univer- 
sal interest,  as  the  proposed  celebration."  And  it  is 
easy  to  understand  what  he  means.  Although  Ger- 
mantown at  that  time  had  became  incorporated  by  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  it  still  was  a  village  of  a  few 
thousands,  and  no  celebration  of  the  proportions  of 
this  one  had  ever  been  attempted.  The  people  of 
the  town  were  proud  of  the  old  Academy,  where  many 
of  them  and  of  their  boys  had  gone  to  school,  as  many 
of  their  fathers  and  grandfathers  had  gone  before 
them,  and  the  centenary  occurred  a  little  while  before 
such  observances  had  become  common  in  this  vicinity, 
although  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  had  cele- 
brated the  hundredth  year  of  its  founding  ten  years 
before.  And  the  old  bell,  not  so  very  old,  either,  if 
one  would  date  it  from  its  reincarnation  of  a  quarter- 

184 


A    Critical  Period 

century  back,  began  its  tolling  early  that  day.  It  did 
not  ring  so  that  the  people  of  Germantown  might 
correct  their  timepieces,  but  early  in  the  morning,  re- 
minding the  townspeople  by  its  familiar  tones  of  the 
arrival  of  the  auspicious  time.  And  the  historian  of 
the  event  does  not  seem  to  have  overdrawn  his  descrip- 
tions. He  pictures  to  us,  in  a  matter-of-fact  way 
that  convinces  the  reader,  the  streaming  flags;  the 
crowded  Main  Street,  all  impatience  for  the  ceremonies ; 
the  firing  of  the  cannon.  Robert  Warnock  was  the 
owner  of  this  piece  of  ordnance  and  "  offered  it  for 
service  in  connection  with  the  event;  "  and  the  piece, 
we  are  told  "sounded  its  iron  tones,  under  his  direc- 
tion, one  hundred  times  in  recognition  and  in  honor 
of  the  Centennial  Day." 

The  band  was  there,  too ;  the  Germantown 
"National  Cornet  Band,"  which  "paraded  the  streets 
with  its  exhilarating  and  inspiring  music."  With  these 
encouragements,  "long  before  the  appointed  hour 
(eight  o'clock  in  ;the  evening)  throngs  of  people  of 
both  sexes  began  to  pour  into  the  spacious  room  of 
the  Town  Hall,  filling  it  to  its  utmost  capacity."  It 
was  estimated  that  there  were  fifteen  hundred  persons 
in  the  hall.  In  the  gallery  over  the  rear  of  the  stage 
were  seated  the  students  from  the  Academy  and  their 
teachers,  and  upon  the  stage  were  seated  the  trustees 
and  members  of  the  alumni,  "with  several  of  the  clergy 
and  other  invited  guests." 

The  Rev.  Charles  W.  Schaeffer,  an  alumnus  of  the 
school,  made  the  opening  prayer.  Then  followed  the 
singing  of  the  Centennial  Ode  to  the  tune  of  Old 
Hundred,  after  which  Mr.  Littell,  its  author,  and  the 

i8s 


A  History   of  The  G ermantown  A cademy 

presiding  officer  of  the  occasion,  made  a  short  address, 
introducing  the  orator  of  the  day,  Sidney  George 
Fisher.  Mr.  Fisher  put  the  school  in  its  place  in  the 
history  not  only  of  the  town  but  of  the  state,  recalling 
the  names  of  those  associated  with  its  fortunes;  so  many 
of  which  are  still  household  words  in  Germantown. 


i86 


CHAPTER  XIII 
The  Last  Years  of  the  Old  Regime,  i 860-1 877 

THE  Germantown  Academy,  in  common 
with  all  educational  institutions,  suf- 
fered from  the  financial  depression  that 
accompanied  the  Civil  War.  There  are, 
however,  few  notes  suggestive  of  the  critical  period 
through  which  the  country  then  was  passing  to  be  found 
in  the  minute  book  of  the  board  of  trustees.  Meetings 
were  held  with  regularity ;  elections  took  place  each 
year  as  usual,  and,  from  the  reports  of  the  treasurer, 
it  would  appear  that  while  the  cost  of  war  was  felt 
it  did  not  result  in  crippling  the  school. 

The  history  of  the  school  during  the  struggle  is,  of 
course,  as  much  the  record  of  its  alumni  at  the  front 
as  that  of  its  undergraduates  and  teachers  and  board 
in  their  accustomed  functions  in  the  old  building. 
Beyond  the  bare  account  of  the  service  of  the  boys  of 
the  school  who  took  part  in  the  war,  most  information 
of  that  period  is  in  the  mind  of  Captain  W.  Franklyn 
Potter,  '55,  of  the  present  board  of  trustees.  Captain 
Potter  treasures  many  memories  of  incidents  at  the 
front  and  in  the  work  preparatory  to  leaving  for  the 
front,  and  knows  just  what  part  each  Academy  boy  in 
the  northern  army  took  in  those  four  long  years  of 
fighting. 

Langhorne  Wister  of  the  class  of  '54  was  colonel 
of  the  150th  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  one  of  the  most 
famous  regiments  of  the  Union  forces  and  commonly 
called  "  The  Bucktails,"  from  the  practice  the  men  had 

187 


A  History  of  The   Germantown   Academy 

of  wearing  a  buck's  tail  in  their  caps.  Colonel  Wister 
was  breveted  brigadier-general  of  volunteers  for 
meritorious  services  at  Gettysburg.  Harvey  Fisher  of 
the  class  of  '56  was  a  captain  in  the  same  regiment,  as 
was  John  Quincy  Carpenter,  '64. 

In  the  6th  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  known  as  "  Rush's 
Lancers,"  two  of  the  officers  were  Germantown  Acad- 
emy boys,  William  P.  Treichel, '56,  major,  and  William 
Redwood  Wright,  '60,  captain.  Charles  Treichel,  '56, 
brother  of  Major  Treichel  of  the  "  Lancers,"  was 
captain  and  brevet  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  3rd  Penn- 
sylvania Cavalry  and  afterward  became  governor  of 
the  soldiers'  home  in  Los  Angeles,  California. 
W.  Franklyn  Potter,  '55,  was  captain  in  this  same 
organization,  which  was  considered  one  of  the  most 
efficient  volunteer  cavalry  regiments  in  the  service,  as 
evidenced  by  an  offer  from  the  United  States  Government 
to  incorporate  it  intact  into  the  regular  army  at  the 
close  of  the  war. 

Francis  Wister,  who  graduated  from  the  school  in 
'57,  has  a  fine  record.  He  was  colonel  of  the  215th 
Pennsylvania  Infantry  and  was  breveted  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  6th  Infantry,  United  States  regular 
army,  for  meritorious  service  at  the  Battle  of  Gettys- 
burg. He  was  again  breveted  as  major  in  the  regular 
army  after  the  mustering  out  in  1865.  William  Rotch 
Wister,  '43,  enlisted  with  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel  in 
the  reserve  army  that  was  hastily  recruited  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  neighboring  states  at  the  time  of  Lee's  in- 
vasion of  the  North.  This  body  of  men,  owing  to  the 
reverse  of  the  Confederates  at  Gettysburg,  was  never 
needed  and  was  mustered  out  in  January,  1864,  never 

188 


The   Last    Years    of  the    Old  Regime 

having  seen  active  service.  James  H.  Withington, 
Jr.,  of  the  class  of  '60,  and  son  of  the  headmaster  at  that 
time,  also  entered  the  army  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
war,  but  his  record  is  not  known. 

These  records,  all  too  brief,  indicate  what  part 
some  of  the  Academy  boys  took  in  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion.  The  story  of  this  period  in  their  lives,  of 
the  preparation  and  drilling  on  the  old  "Coulter 
Farm  "  at  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Wayne  Avenue 
and  Schoolhouse  Lane;  of  the  battles  in  which  they 
were  engaged,  and  their  deeds  of  valor  in  an  unselfish 
service,  can  of  necessity  be  but  alluded  to  in  a  work 
of  this  scope.  It  is  sufficient  to  know  that  the  old 
school  sent  her  boys  to  the  front  with  the  "spirit"  for 
which  she  is  famous,  and  there  they  did  their  part 
faithfully  in  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  whose  birth 
and  early  history  are  so  intimately  connected  with  the 
history  of  the  Academy. 

Meanwhile,  those  at  home  were  solicitous  for  the 
preservation  of  the  old  building.  In  May,  1863,  it 
was  resolved  to  give  it  a  new  cedar-shingle  roof  "  at  a 
cost  not  exceeding  $500,"  and  after  Gettysburg  was 
fought  there  is  in  the  pages  of  the  minute  book  an 
echo  of  that  sense  of  relief  then  widespread  through- 
out the  Northern  states — that  feeling  of  security  felt 
for  the  first  time  in  over  two  years.  The  Confederate 
tide  had  reached  its  highest  point  and  was  ebbing 
backward,  and  anxiety  gave  place  to  thoughts  of  future 
prosperity.  This  idea  seems  to  be  the  one  expressed 
in  a  motion  carried  at  the  meeting  on  August  10,  1863  : 

"  On  motion  a  committee  of  three  members,  con- 
sisting  of   the    president   (W.   H.    Stokes),    William 

189 


A  History  of  The    Germantown  Academy 

Ashmead  and  J.  F.  Jones,  were  appointed  to  take  into 
consideration  the  future  prosperity  of  the  school,  and 
consult  the  principal  in  relation  to  the  matter  and 
report  at  a  future  meeting  of  the  board  such  con- 
clusions as  they  consider  best  in  the  premises." 

Three  days  later  Mr.  Withington,  the  principal  of 
the  school,  handed  in  his  resignation,  which,  at  a 
meeting  held  August  24,  1863,  was  accepted.  As 
Mr.  Withington's  letter  of  resignation  was  spread  upon 
the  minutes  there  is  preserved  the  feeling  that  existed 
between  him  and  the  trustees,  and  the  condition  of  the 
school  during  the  period  of  great  tension  that  existed 
in  the  course  of  the  struggle  between  the  North  and 
the  South. 

Mr.  Withington  explained :  "  I  cannot  forbear 
expressing  my  most  sincere  thanks  to  the  board,  both 
individually  and  collectively,  for  the  many  favors  and 
the  sympathy  I  have  received  at  their  hands  during  my 
long  connection  with  the  school. 

"  I  took  charge  of  the  Academy  ten  years  ago  this 
fall.  At  the  time  I  entered  upon  my  duties  I  found 
only  seventeen  pupils.  Our  numbers  gradually  in- 
creased to  those  of  a  large  school  and  remained  large 
until  the  Rebellion  broke  out.  The  financial  crisis 
which  followed  affected  all  schools.  We  suffered  with 
the  rest.  I  am  happy  to  state,  however,  for  the  past 
year  the  attendance  has  been  good,  with  constantly 
increasing  numbers.  The  school  at  the  present  time 
is  as  large  as  any  two  teachers  could  successfully 
instruct." 

Immediate  steps  were  taken  to  provide  a  successor 
to   Mr.  Withington,  but  they  were  not  successful  at 

190 


The   Last    Years   of  the    Old  Regime 

once.  At  a  meeting  on  August  27,  1863,  the  commit- 
tee appointed  for  the  purpose  reported  their  failure, 
so  Mr.  Wilder  was  directed  to  take  charge  of  the 
school  temporarily  at  a  salary,  fixed  at  a  meeting  on 
September  7,  1863,  of  $25  a  week.  It  was  announced 
at  the  former  meeting  that  candidates  for  the  princi- 
palship  should  stand  an  examination  to  prove  their 
fitness  and  qualifications,  and  the  faculty  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania  were  asked  to  act  as  examiners. 
This  they  declined,  as  a  body,  to  do,  but  offered  to 
act  as  individuals.  The  board,  therefore,  at  the  meet- 
ing, September  21,  1863,  rescinded  their  order  that 
candidates  should  take  the  test,  and  Cyrus  V.  Mays 
( 1 830-1 876),  a  graduate  of  Franklin  and  Marshall  Col- 
lege in  the  class  of  1856,  who  was  one  of  the  two  appli- 
cants for  the  position,  was  selected,  upon  the  strength 
of  his  recommendations  and  testimonials,  to  act  as 
principal  for  the  term  ending  June  30,  1864. 

Mr.  Mays  reported  to  the  board  on  August  8, 
1864,  that  the  number  of  pupils  during  the  year  was 
thirty,  of  whom  nineteen  were  taking  Latin  and  Greek 
along  with  the  English  branches  and  mathematics ; 
nine  were  in  the  primary  department ;  three  were 
taking  French,  and  that  three  boys  were  on  the  Poor 
Fund.  At  this  meeting  the  prices  of  tuition  for  the 
various  departments  were  fixed  at  $40,  $60  and  $80. 

According  to  Mr.  Mays'  report.  May  8,  1865, 
there  were  thirty-two  pupils  in  the  Academy,  and 
there  was  "  marked  improvement  in  attendance  and 
punctuality." 

Under  Mr.  Mays'  principalship,  the  Academy 
consisted  of  three  departments — primary,  English  and 

191 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

classical.  Considerable  stress  was  laid  on  the  classi- 
cal department  in  the  circulars  issued  under  his  regime. 
One  of  these  circulars,  bearing  the  date  1865,  gives 
Mr.  Mays'  ideas  of  education  and  as  they  are  likely  to 
be  of  interest  now,  a  few  quotations  from  his  "princi- 
ples" may  be  quoted: 

"The  spirit  of  education,  therefore,  should  be 
eminently  religious.  Not  to  teach  religion  alone,  but 
all  things  religiously.  This  principle  should  be  the 
actuating  motive,  not  only  in  the  general  management 
and  discipline  of  the  school,  but  it  should  be  the  basis 
upon  which  all  instruction  is  imparted. 

"Education  should  be  organic  and  complete,  not 
mechanical;  it  should  penetrate  and  regulate  the  entire 
being.  The  growth  should  be  from  within,  carried  on 
by  organic  action,  and  not  from  without  by  mere 
accretion. 

"It  should  be  free  and  natural  instead  of  being 
cramped.  The  pupil  should  have  sufficient  liberty  to 
manifest  decidedly  his  individual  character. 

"  It  should  be  harmonious  in  all  its  parts,  so  carried 
on  that  all  the  natural  faculties  and  acquired  knowledge 
agree  and  harmonize. 

"  It  should  be  gradual  and  progressive,  united  in 
all  its  parts,  forming  a  continued  series  without  gaps ; 
proceeding  from  particular  facts  to  general  truths  ; 
from  what  is  simple  to  what  is  complex ;  from  the 
exercise  of  observation  to  that  of  conception  ;  and  from 
the  conception  of  material  things  to  that  of  abstract 
ideas." 

The  text-books  mentioned  as  used  daily  in  the 
English  department  of  the  Academy  in  the  Civil  War 

192 


o 


The   Last    Years    of  the    Old  Regime 

period  should  excite  some  curiosity  in  the  minds  of 
the  present  generation  of  schoolboys.  In  history, 
they  studied  Wilson's  "  United  States,"  Liddell's 
"  Rome,"  and  Smith's  "  Greece,"  names  that  may  be 
as  unfamiliar  as  the  appearance  of  the  volumes  them- 
selves to  the  twentieth-century  schoolboy.  The 
Academy  boy  in  1865  obtained  his  knowledge  of 
arithmetic,  algebra,  and  geometry  out  of  the  then  very 
popular  text-books  of  Greenleaf,  supplemented  by 
Davies'  "  Surveying  and  Analytical  Geometry."  Then, 
he  worried  with  Wells'  "  Natural  Philosophy  and 
Chemistry,"  received  his  rudiments  of  botany  from 
Gray,  and,  from  the  classic  Dana,  his  insight  into  the 
sciences  of  mineralogy  and  geology.  In  addition  to 
these  he  was  expected  to  learn  something  about  his 
own  body  by  committing  pages  to  memory  of  Hitch- 
cock's "  Anatomy  and  Physiology."  These,  of  course, 
do  not  include  all  the  books  through  which  the  youth 
of  that  day  were  personally  conducted,  but  the  list 
given,  to  one  familiar  with  the  tedious  text-books  of  a 
former  time,  furnishes  one  of  the  explanations  for  the 
accomplishments  of  the  period. 

Mr.  Mays'  circulars  appear  to  have  had  the  calcu- 
lated effect.  At  the  meeting  on  August  14,  1865,  ^^^ 
principal  reported  to  the  board  of  trustees  that  the 
number  of  pupils  enrolled  during  the  last  school  year 
was  thirty-two.  His  report  to  the  same  body  on 
February  12,  1866,  showed  that  there  were  forty-three 
pupils  in  the  school.  In  fact,  "  on  account  of  the 
number  of  classes  (into  which  these  were  divided)  he 
had  found  it  necessary  to  begin  recitations  at  eight 
o'clock."     The  hours  for  the  daily  sessions  at  this  time 

193 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

had  been  from  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

No  principal  connected  with  the  institution  ever 
made  more  conscientious  and  comprehensive  reports 
during  the  year  than  did  Mr.  Mays.  He  referred  to 
the  paucity  of  such  as  had  crept  into  the  minutes  in 
the  early  times  of  the  school,  and,  in  seeking  to  leave 
information  for  posterity,  was  careful  during  his  ad- 
ministration to  make  regularly  very  full,  and  often 
almost  voluminous,  but  always  informing,  returns  of 
the  work  of  his  school.  He  frequently  had  sugges- 
tions for  improvements  of  the  Academy,  and  one  of 
his  most  persistent  suggestions,  which  failed  to  find 
favor  with  the  trustees,  was  his  advocacy  of  an  increase 
in  the  price  of  tuition.  At  the  meeting  on  May  14, 
1866,  he  first  brought  this  subject  before  the  board, 
marshaling  so  many  reasons  for  urging  the  advance 
that  his  report  may  be  said  to  be  exhaustive.  He  con- 
tended that  the  rates  were  lower  than  those  of  any 
other  private  school  "  in  this  place  or  in  the  city.  The 
experience  of  two  years  has  shown  me,"  he  continued, 
"  that  this  is  a  disadvantage  rather  than  an  advantage. 
The  character  of  a  school  is  too  often  judged,  as 
everything  else,  by  its  prices." 

He  explained  that  he  would  not  "  exclude  the  son 
of  any  man,  no  matter  how  limited  his  circumstances, 
but  he  wanted  the  prices  of  tuition  equal  to  those  of 
other  academies  and  select  schools  to  show  that  we 
profess  to  be  equal  to  them  in  every  other  respect." 
And  he  suggested  that  the  rates  for  the  classical 
department  be  raised  to  $100  a  year,  and  those  for 
the    English    department    to   $80   a   year.      He    also 

194 


The    Last    Years   of  the    Old  Regime 

reported  that  he  proposed  to  employ  a  teacher  of 
drawing  and  penmanship  and  a  teacher  of  elocution. 
These  were  added  to  the  faculty  soon  after. 

The  number  of  pupils  this  year  was  forty-eight,  the 
highest  since  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War.  On 
November  12,  1866,  the  principal  announced  that  he 
had  fifty-four  pupils.  Finding  the  attendance  fell  off 
during  June  each  year,  the  principal  proposed  to 
maintain  the  interest  until  the  close  of  the  school  year, 
June  30th,  by  having  an  examination  during  the  last 
week  of  the  month. 

The  next  year  Mr.  Mays  returned  to  the  attack 
upon  the  low  rates  of  tuition,  which  he  attempted  to 
show  were  three  times  less  than  in  the  year  1822, 
"  taking  the  increased  cost  of  living  into  consideration." 
He  also  advocated  the  establishment  of  a  gymnasium, 
referring  to  the  apparatus  successfully  used  "  by 
Professor  Hastings,  of  West  Philadelphia,"  and  offer- 
ing to  employ  a  teacher,  if  the  apparatus  was  installed. 
He  explained  that  the  parallel  bars,  ladders,  etc.,  might 
be  placed  on  the  playground  during  the  summer 
months,  and  could  be  obtained  and  erected  at  very 
little  cost. 

"  Daily  practice  in  gymnastic  exercises,"  he  wrote, 
"  would  not  only  be  beneficial  in  promoting  health  and 
securing  proper  development,  but  would  be  of  great 
benefit  intellectually  by  giving  elasticity  to  the  spirits 
and  freshness  to  the  mind."  This  is  the  first  notice  of 
a  suggestion  for  physical  culture  at  the  Academy. 

About  this  time  Mr,  Withington,  the  former 
principal,  made  an  effort  to  return  to  the  Academy. 
The  trustees,  at  their  meeting,  July  22,  1868,  directed 

195 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  Academy 

the  secretary  to  inform  him  there  was  no  vacancy  at 
present  to  the  principalship.  He  then  made  overtures 
to  Mr.  Mays  who  reported  the  matter  to  the  board, 
informing  that  body  that  he  had  already  made  his 
arrangements  for  the  year  and  would  be  unable  to 
form  such  a  combination  of  interests  as  Mr.  Withington 
suggested. 

At  the  meeting  on  August  lo,  1868,  the  board  de- 
cided that  there  would  be  no  change  in  the  price  of 
tuition  but  that  the  principal  should  be  permitted  to 
charge  those  pupils  who  studied  the  higher  branches 
of  English  and  mathematics  at  the  higher  rate,  $80 
per  annum.  This  decision,  as  will  be  shown  later, 
worked  a  decided  hardship  to  the  principal,  and  the 
board  realizing  that  the  ground  Mr.  Mays  took  was 
reasonable  and  just,  followed  his  advice. 

Always  progressive,  and  always  determined  to  have 
the  Academy  in  the  foremost  rank  of  private  schools, 
Mr.  Mays  came  before  the  trustees  in  November  of 
that  year  with  a  request  for  "  proper  appliances  for 
successfully  teaching  the  natural  sciences." 

This  year,  1869,  there  was  yet  another  reference  to 
the  ringing  of  the  Academy  bell.  A  resolution  passed 
by  the  board  on  May  loth,  ordained  that  it  should  be 
rung  twice  daily,  "  at  the  opening  of  the  school,  and 
at  12  o'clock  M."  This  meeting  received  a  report  on 
the  condition  of  the  philosophical  apparatus.  The 
library  committee  to  which  the  work  of  making  report 
devolved,  stated  that  all  the  apparatus  could  be  put  in 
order  at  moderate  cost ;  that  the  telescope  was  in  the 
keeping  of  C.  J.  Wister,  Jr.,  and  was  found  to  be  in 
perfect   order.     It  was    recommended   that   the    spy- 

196 


The   Last    Years   of  the    Old  Regime 

glass,  known  as  the  Washington  glass,  be  deposited 
with  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  but  at  a 
subsequent  meeting  this  recommendation  was  nega- 
tived. The  board,  in  August,  ordered  that  the  spy- 
glass and  the  books,  papers  and  other  similar  prop- 
erty, including  a  quadrant,  made  by  Godfrey,  be 
removed  from  the  insurance  office  and  placed  in  the 
National  Bank  of  Germantown. 

At  the  close  of  the  term  this  year,  the  first  yearly 
examinations  of  the  pupils,  an  innovation  of  Mr.  Mays, 
were  held.  They  "  passed  off  successfully,"  the  princi- 
pal reported,  "and  from  what  he  could  learn  from  the 
parents  who  attended  them,  afforded  much  gratifica- 
tion." 

According  to  the  principal's  report  there  were 
sixty-seven  pupils  in  the  school  early  in  1870.  At  the 
May  meeting  of  the  board,  the  salary  of  the  secretary, 
which  had  been  $15  a  year,  was  raised  to  $50,  and  the 
treasurer,  who  had  given  his  services  gratuitously,  was 
awarded  a  similar  amount.  This  year,  much  of  the 
furniture  in  the  school  was  renewed,  and  many  needed 
repairs  made. 

In  his  report  to  the  trustees  at  their  meeting  May 
9,  1870,  Mr.  Mays  gave  a  plain  statement  of  his 
financial  difficulties.  It  is  probable  that  it  was  this 
report  that  accomplished  what  all  the  previous  cau- 
tious recommendations  had  failed  to  bring  about,  for 
at  this  meeting  the  trustees,  in  increasing  the  salaries 
of  secretary  and  treasurer,  accompanied  the  increase 
with  an  order  that  "the  price  of  tuition  beginning 
next  term  be,  for  the  first,  or  lower  classes,  $80,  and 
the  higher  classes  $100  per  annum." 

197 


A  History  of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

The  custom  of  holding  municipal  elections  In  the 
Academy  building,  which  had  been  the  rule  for  many 
years,  was  brought  to  an  end  in  1872,  owing  to  the 
particularly  boisterous  and  destructive  character  of 
some  of  the  persons  who  took  part  in  the  special  elec- 
tion held  on  January  30th  that  year  to  select  a  State 
Senator  from  the  Fourth  District,  part  of  which  dis- 
trict lay  in  Germantown.  To  the  board  of  trustees  at 
their  meeting  In  February,  Mr.  Mays  complained  in 
his  report  of  "the  beastly  conduct  of  some  of  the 
officers  or  others  who  were  admitted  in  the  room,"  and 
he  "hoped  that  the  place  for  holding  the  elections  may 
be  changed."  Acting  on  this  recommendation  the 
board  adopted  a  resolution  "that  notice  be  given  to 
the  city  authorities  that  said  school  buildings  cannot 
hereafter  be  used  for  holding  the  elections." 

At  the  April  meeting  of  the  trustees,  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  confer  with  Mr.  Mays  on  the  prices 
then  charged  for  tuition.  The  result  of  this  confer- 
ence was  a  decision  by  the  trustees  in  May  to  add 
another  grade  of  tuition  to  those  already  existing. 
This  was  for  younger  boys,  at  $60  a  year. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  school  year  in  June, 
Mr.  Mays  received  an  appointment  from  Franklin  and 
Marshall  College  at  Lancaster,  and  presented  his  res- 
ignation as  principal  of  the  preparatory  school.  In 
this  letter  he  regrets  the  necessity  for  giving  such 
short  notice,  but  explains  his  action  by  the  assertion 
that  the  election  "  was  wholly  unexpected."  He  refers 
to  the  friendly  attitude  of  the  trustees  towards  him, 
and,  speaking  of  the  regret  at  leaving  the  institution, 
proudly  declares  "the  school  was  never  in  better 
condition." 

198 


The   Last    Years    of  the    Old  Regime 

Dr.  Alfred  C.  Lambdin,  the  editor  of  the  Phila- 
delphia "  Public  Ledger,"  who  was  an  Academy  boy 
in  the  days  of  Mr.  Withington's  regime,  has  furnished 
a  few  reminiscences  of  the  school  which  may  be  in- 
serted here,  for  the  latter  part  of  them  refers  to  this 
period  of  the  Academy's  history  when  it  was  found 
advisable  to  once  more  have  the  charter  amended. 
As  Dr.  Lambdin  confesses  to  having  been  "  a  ring- 
leader "  in  the  movement  which  inspired  this  change, 
the  paragraph  has  the  value  of  a  document. 

"My  association  with  the  Germantown  Academy  was 
vague  and  fragmentary.  When  I  came  of  school  age, 
in  the  early  fifties,  the  school  was  kept  by  one  Miller, 
whom  my  parents  did  not  regard  with  favor.  It 
was  a  small  affair,  occupying  only  the  western  room 
and  attended  by  only  a  few  of  the  Germantown  boys. 
The  larger  schoolroom,  as  I  recollect,  was  rented  by 
a  young  teacher  named  Veeder,  who  kept  what  was 
really  a  private  school  under  the  public  roof.  My 
elder  brother  and  I  were  sent  to  Veeder's  school,  as 
were  most  of  the  boys  of  our  acquaintance,  and  we 
had  only  antagonistic  and  often  hostile  relations  with 
Miller's  boys,  who  were  to  my  small  mind  most  des- 
perate characters.  Precisely  what  relation  the  engage- 
ment of  Withington  had  with  the  departure  of  Veeder 
I  do  not  know,  except  that  they  occurred  together. 
One  September,  Withington  appeared  as  master  of 
the  Academy,  established  in  the  big  room  where 
Veeder  had  mildly  reigned,  Miller  had  disappeared, 
and  we  were  all  Academy  boys  together. 

"  Withington  was  a  good  old-fashioned  Yankee 
schoolmaster,  tall  and  bony,  ferocious  of  manner  and 

199 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

fond  of  the  ferrule,  though  his  favorite  punishment  for 
the  smaller  boys  was  to  put  them  under  his  desk,  where 
he  also  kept  his  boots.  I  held  him  in  great  terror, 
though  I  dare  say  he  was  really  quite  an  amiable  per- 
son. I  have  a  vivid  recollection  now  of  his  prancing 
across  the  room,  with  ruler  uplifted  like  a  policeman's 
riot  club  ;  but  I  equally  recollect  his  gentle  reproof  to 
me  for  some  childish  prank,  as  his  'little  man'  whom 
he  should  not  have  had  to  correct. 

"  I  was  probably  the  '  littlest '  boy  in  the  big 
school,  one  of  those  often  unfortunate  boys  whose 
facility  of  study  brings  him  into  a  class  with  older  and 
much  rougher  boys  than  themselves,  and  I  do  not 
recall  my  period  at  the  Academy  as  a  happy  one.  I 
think  I  was  always  frightened.  I  cannot  tell  how  long 
I  was  there.  Eventually  it  was  decided  that  my  elder 
brother  was  to  go  to  school  in  town,  and  I  was  entrusted 
to  George  R.  Barker,  who  had  opened  a  private  school 
for  boys  over  the  Fellowship  engine  house.  There- 
after I  was  not  a  pupil  of  the  Germantown  Academy, 
though  the  Academy  remained  the  centre  of  many 
boyish  interests.  We  all  went  there  in  the  afternoons 
to  play  and  I  think  my  affection  for  the  old  place 
deepened  as  my  association  with  it  became  voluntary. 
Many  of  the  Academy  boys  of  that  time  have  a  dearer 
place  in  my  memory  than  most  of  my  comrades  at 
Barker's,  and  I  can  in  no  way  separate  the  old  grey 
buildings  and  the  green  playground  from  any  of  my 
boyhood  memories,  however  irregular  my  claims  to 
count  myself  as  an  Academy  boy. 

"The  associations  of  my  later  school  days  were 
elsewhere,  but  after  I  had  settled  in  Germantown  for 

200 


The   Last    Years    of  the    Old  Regime 

what  was  to  be  my  profession  and  presently  under- 
took, with  the  confidence  of  a  young  journalist,  to 
instruct  the  good  people  of  the  borough  in  the  con- 
duct of  their  affairs,  the  Academy  came  in  for  a  share 
of  my  reforming  zeal.  It  was  there  that  I  became 
aware  that  the  Public  School  of  Germantown  was  really 
under  public  control  and  that  the  trustees  were  chosen, 
at  an  annual  election,  by  the  qualified  voters  of  the 
borough.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  few  of  the  trustees 
themselves  ever  voted,  usually  re-electing  those  whose 
terms  were  to  expire.  As  I  recollect,  their  average  age 
at  that  time  must  have  been  about  eighty.  The  manage- 
ment of  the  school  certainly  was  not  vigorous,  and  it 
seemed  to  me  one  spring  that  as  a  particularly 
antiquated  set  of  trustees  were  going  out,  we  might 
get  enough  voters  together  quietly  to  put  in  some  new 
blood.  Whether  from  defective  organization  or 
because  the  old  fellows  took  alarm  I  cannot  remember 
but  the  plot  was  only  partly  successful.  We  probably 
turned  out  the  best  men,  as  usually  happens,  and  failed 
to  get  in  those  most  likely  to  be  useful.  I  know  I  was 
not  elected,  though  I  do  not  recollect  whether  I  was 
myself  a  candidate.  At  all  events,  not  much  came  of 
it  except  to  shake  up  the  board  and  to  remind  them 
of  the  peril  they  and  the  Academy  were  in  from  the 
chances  of  a  popular  election,  and  the  result  was  an 
amendment  of  the  charter,  some  time  later,  that  put 
the  election  of  trustees  on  a  less  democratic  basis.  I 
transferred  my  activities  from  Germantown  not  long 
after  this,  but  I  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that 
while  the  Academy  left  its  lasting  impress  on  me,  I 
also  left  some  impress  on  its  history." 

201 


A  History   of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

While  Dr.  Lambdin  has  given  no  date  for  the 
time  when  his  "  reform  movement "  was  launched,  it 
appears  by  subsequent  events  to  have  been  in  the 
year  1874.  In  March  of  the  next  year,  the  board 
adopted  a  resolution  for  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mittee "to  investigate  what  steps  are  necessary  to  have 
our  charter  amended  so  that  only  those  persons  con- 
tributing —  dollars  in  any  one  year  to  the  funds  of 
the  Academy,  or  who  pay  during  said  year  a  tuition 
fee,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  for  trustees  of  the  Acad- 
emy or  be  eligible  as  such."  A.  Miskey  was  appointed 
the  committee  under  the  resolution,  but  the  minutes 
contain  no  evidence  of  the  committee's  activity,  and  at 
the  meeting  on  November  13,  1876,  the  president  and 
C.  J.  Wister,  Jr.,  were  appointed  a  committee  on 
amendment  to  the  charter,  and  the  amendment  was 
shortly  afterward  accomplished. 

From  the  two  applicants  who  sought  the  position 
vacated  by  Mr.  Mays  in  the  summer  of  1872,  the  Rev. 
William  Travis  was  selected  as  principal  by  the  board, 
at  its  meeting  on  August  14th  of  that  year.  At  a 
previous  meeting  the  trustees  reduced  the  tuition  fees 
to  their  former  basis  of  $40,  |6o,  and  ^80,  and  also 
reduced  the  rent  of  the  principal's  house  to  $400  a  year. 

The  neglect  to  provide  a  history  of  the  institution 
which  had  several  times  been  advocated,  seemed  to 
impress  the  members  of  the  board  about  this  time,  and 
it  seems  to  have  been  agreed  between  Mr.  Travis  and 
the  committee  which  selected  him  for  the  principalship, 
that  he  should  provide  such  a  needed  work.  At  any 
rate,  there  is  a  minute  to  the  effect  that  the  officers  of 
the  board  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Travis  "  be  a  com- 

202 


Dr.  William  Kershaw 


The    Last    Years    of   the    Old   Regime 

mittee  to  prepare  for  publication  in  the  local  papers  a 
condensed  history  of  the  School,"  passed  at  the  meet- 
ing on  August  14,  1872. 

Mr.  Travis  entered  upon  his  dual  capacity  of 
principal  and  historian  with  enthusiasm.  Soon  after 
the  opening  of  the  term  in  the  fall  of  1872  he  reported 
the  number  of  pupils  as  fifty-three,  of  whom  six  were 
on  the  Poor  Fund.  His  first  report,  however,  shows 
that  his  prosperity  was  not  unmixed  with  anxiety,  for 
he  remarks,  "  the  primary  department  a  little  more  than 
pays  for  itself."  In  January  there  were  sixty-eight 
pupils  enrolled  and  in  March,  1873,  the  principal 
notified  the  board  that  he  had  seventy-one  boys  in  the 
school.  In  a  long,  descriptive  and  comprehensive 
report,  which  Mr.  Travis  transmitted  to  the  trustees 
at  their  meeting  on  November  10,  1873,  he  gives  his 
classification  of  pupils  and  their  studies.  The  school 
was  divided  into  three  departments  and  these  into 
eight  forms — two  forms  each  of  the  primary  and 
intermediate  departments,  and  four  forms  in  the 
academic.  There  were  then  in  these  classes  eighty-two 
students,  the  largest  number  ever  attained  during  Mr. 
Travis'  administration  as  principal. 

In  spite  of  this  apparent  prosperity,  the  principal 
in  May,  1874,  declared  in  a  report  to  the  board  that 
during  the  two  years  he  had  had  charge  of  the  Acad- 
emy, the  proceeds  had  not  been  sufficient  to  meet  the 
expenses  for  teachers'  salaries,  incidental  expenses  and 
provide  for  his  own  family.  He  asserted  "  the  deficit 
is  about  $1000."  In  order  to  meet  the  condition,  he 
proposed,  as  Mays  had  before  him,  that  an  increase  in 
the  price   of  tuition  was  the   only  solution  possible. 

203 


A  History   of  The  German  town  Academy 

His  proposition  included  advancing  the  primary 
department  to  $60  a  year,  the  intermediate  to  $75,  and 
the  academic  to  $100.  Accompanying  these  sugges- 
tions was  another,  that  it  was  desirable  to  have  the 
members  of  the  board  on  the  platform  at  the  closing 
exercises.  The  trustees  agreed  to  all  the  principal's 
propositions,  including  the  increase  in  rates  of  tuition. 

There  was  considerable  falling  oflF  in  the  number  of 
pupils  when  the  new  term  began  in  September,  1874. 
In  November,  the  principal  reported  that  "  so  far  " 
forty-nine  boys  were  enrolled,  and  that  he  had  arranged 
to  have  a  visiting  teacher,  "  there  being  not  sufficient 
pupils  for  his  full  staff."  The  alarm  felt  by  the 
trustees  for  this  condition  of  the  school  evinced  itself 
in  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  "  consider  the 
present  state  of  the  school,"  and  to  report  "  what  in 
their  opinion  will  be  the  best  course  to  pursue  to 
improve  its  condition."  This  body  made  report  to 
the  board  February  8,  1875. 

They  had  had  several  meetings  for  consultation, 
they  reported,  "  and  in  view  of  the  meagre  attendance 
reported  by  the  principal  at  the  last  meeting  of  the 
board,  concluded  to  ascertain  as  far  as  it  was  in  their 
power,  how  this  condition  compared  with  the  pros- 
perity of  other  schools  in  Germantown."  That  "local 
causes  "  was  the  reason  the  committee  concluded,  but 
at  the  same  time,  denied  that  "  the  hard  times  "  had 
been  at  all  influential,  asserting  that  "  on  the  contrary, 
most  of  them  (the  other  schools)  had  increased  in 
numbers  of  pupils."  "  We  can  hardly  conceive,"  the 
report  went  on,  "  that  the  falling  off  of  thirty-three  in 
numbers  can  fairly  be  attributed  to  any  other  cause 

204 


The    Last    Years    of   the    Old  Regime 

than  mismanagement.  In  view  of  these  facts  your 
committee  feel  compelled  to  recommend  that  the 
board  of  trustees  terminate  their  engagements  with  the 
principal  at  the  end  of  the  present  session,"  and  also 
suggested  that  three  months'  notice  be  given  Mr. 
Travis. 

But  Mr.  Travis  did  not  leave  the  Academy  that 
year.  When  the  Academy  opened  in  the  fall,  how- 
ever, there  was  no  improvement  in  its  status.  In 
November,  the  number  of  pupils  enrolled  was  given  as 
forty-two,  of  whom  eighteen  were  in  the  academic  and 
twenty-four  in  the  intermediate  and  primary  depart- 
ments. 

The  school  continued  to  steadily  decline,  and  report- 
ing twenty-five  pupils  in  November,  1876,  Mr.  Travis 
noted,  "It  is  proper  to  remark  that  four  of  the  pupils 
enrolled  are  the  principal's  own  children." 

During  his  connection  with  the  institution,  Mr. 
Travis,  in  his  scheme  for  cultivating  and  ornamenting 
the  grounds,  caused  the  two  trees  "  standing  nearest 
the  front  door  "  to  be  removed,  and  also  influenced 
the  executive  committee  to  erect  the  iron  fence  around 
the   grounds.     This   fence  was   put  up  in  the  fall  of 

1875- 

His  most  lasting  work,  probably,  was  his  history 

of  the  institution.  On  this  subject,  at  the  time  when 
resolutions  were  demanding  his  resignation,  he  re- 
ported "  the  history  of  the  Academy  has  been  printed 
in  '  The  Guide  '  for  some  months  past,  and  it  is  here- 
with presented  in  a  scrapbook.  It  must  be  revised 
before  it  is  published  in  book  form.  As  full  a 
knowledge  of  the   history  of  the  Academy  as  I  now 

205 


A  History    of  The  Germantown  Academy 

have,  when  I  took  charge  of  the  school  nearly  four 
years  ago,  would  have  enabled  me  to  understand  mat- 
ters much  better  than  I  did." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  board  on  November  13,  1876, 
after  listening  to  communications  from  Dr.  William 
Kershaw  and  Mr.  Cope  Kimber,  the  trustees  unani- 
mously elected  them  "as  principal  and  vice-principal 
respectively  for  one  year  from  the  first  of  September 
next." 

The  co-principals  were  successful  from  the  start, 
but  Mr.  Kimber  lived  only  long  enough  to  see  that 
his  and  Dr.  Kershaw's  efforts  were  destined  to  bring 
the  school  to  a  prosperity  unheard  of  since  pre- 
Revolutionary  days.  After  Mr.  Kimber's  death  in 
1879,  Dr.  Kershaw  had  the  responsibility  on  his 
shoulders  alone,  and  for  thirty-three  years  he  has  borne 
it  with  a  success  that  all  Germantown  knows. 


RESPONSES  TO  TOASTS  MADE  AT  THE 
SESQUI-CENTENNIAL  ALUMNI  DIN- 
NER OF  THE  GERMANTOWN  ACAD- 
EMY,   HELD    ON     DECEMBER    6,    1909 


OUR  EDUCATIONAL 
INSTITUTIONS 

Response  of  Dr.  Isaac  Sharpless 
President  of  Haverford  College 

y^MONG  the  assets  of  this  school,  of  not  less  importance 
/  ^  than  the  character  of  its  teachers  and  the  excellence  of 
JL.  J^  its  student  body,  must  be  mentioned  its  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  of  history.  The  difference  between  a  school  with  a 
worthy  past  and  a  new  school  is  something  which  cannot  be  esti- 
mated. The  customs  and  traditions  and  spirit  which  cluster 
around  an  institution  in  the  course  of  years,  add  very  much  to  its 
value.  In  the  first  place,  they  constitute  an  experience  which  is 
invaluable.  We  do  not  want  our  methods  to  be  revolutionary 
but,  rather,  evolutionary.  All  true  progress  must  be  based  on 
the  past.  Otherwise,  we  will  try  over  again  a  great  many 
things  which  have  been  proven  failures  and  will  leave  out 
important  factors  which  are  necessary  to  success.  We  can 
only  understand  the  present  by  means  of  the  past.  Our  large 
universities  are  now  struggling  with  the  problem  of  their  un- 
wieldy dimensions  and  are  proposing  various  schemes  to  solve 
these  problems.  It  is  interesting,  therefore,  to  consider  that 
when  John  Harvard  founded  the  first  American  college  he 
probably  intended  to  reproduce  the  English  college  at  Cam- 
bridge, with  which  he  was  acquainted.  Had  the  succeeding 
benefactors  founded  separate  colleges.  Harvard  would  have 
been  a  counterpart  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  and  the  whole 
system  of  American  university  life  might  have  been  altered. 
But  instead  of  founding  new  colleges  these  successors  gave 
their  aid  to  the  original  college  of  John  Harvard,  and  so  they 
have  been  doing  ever  since.  A  work  could  not  flourish  which 
was  not  acquainted  with  the  past,  and  which  had  no  experience 

209 


A  History    of  The  Germantown  Academy 

in  the  management  of  its  own  constituency;  it  would  be  full 
of  crudities  and  errors.  Again,  a  knowledge  of  the  past  is 
necessary  to  create  that  spirit  of  optimism  which  is  necessary 
for  successful  effort.  The  historian  knows  well,  though  he 
does  not  always  tell  us,  that  conditions  have  been  steadily 
improving  through  the  ages.  We  are  so  accustomed  to  com- 
pare the  history  of  the  past,  from  which  the  bad  elements  are 
eliminated,  with  the  newspaper  accounts  of  the  present,  which 
emphasize  these  bad  elements,  that  we  are  in  danger  in  coming 
to  the  conclusion  that  a  retrogression  is  continually  in  evidence. 
We  often  hear  the  colleges  of  a  half-century  ago  held  up  to  us 
as  models  of  what  we  should  have  now,  and  yet  anyone  who 
reads  such  biographies  as  Andrew  D.White's, of  his  experiences 
at  Yale,  and  some  of  the  Adams's  similar  experiences  at  Har- 
vard, will  appreciate  how  dry  and  unstimulating  must  have 
been  the  life  in  those  institutions  at  the  time  of  their  youth  ; 
and  that,  with  all  the  faults  of  the  present,  in  view  of  a  growth 
which  was  unexpected  and  unprovided  for,  the  modern  Amer- 
ican university  is  a  far  better  place  for  a  boy  to  be  than  the 
mid-century  college. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  go  into  the  arts  of  Uving  for  progress  to 
be  manifested.  I  have  been  interested  recently  in  reading  the 
account  of  Benjamin  Franklin  and  John  Adams  in  a  little  room 
in  a  New  Jersey  hostelry  of  Revolutionary  times.  There  was  only 
one  small  window,  which  Adams  closed  because  he  said  night  air 
was  dangerous ;  but  Franklin  persuaded  him  to  keep  it  open 
by  telling  him  a  long,  dry  story  until  he  went  to  sleep  and 
knew  nothing  until  morning.  Such  an  incident  reveals 
graphically  how  slow  an  intelligent  person  like  Adams  was  to 
understand  something  which  everyone  believes  now.  Even  in 
politics,  which  we  hear  much  berated,  I  feel  sure  that  condi- 
tions are  better  than  in  the  days  of  Washington.  We  do  not 
usually  assume  it  so,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  say  that  anything 
which  history  records  or  hides  will  do  nothing  to  damage  the 

2IO 


Our   Educational  Institutions 

fame  of  George  Washington  and  the  illustrious  men  by  whom 
he  was  surrounded,  but  there  was  the  same  class  of  venal  and 
unscrupulous  politicians  which  we  have  now.  Had  they  been 
subjected  to  the  temptations  to  which  our  men  are,  who  could 
have  stood  ?  The  funding  bill  of  Hamilton  and  the  location 
of  the  capital  afforded  ample  opportunities  for  trade  and  cor- 
ruption, and  they  were  not  unappreciated  by  a  number  of 
small  politicians  as  well  as  by  those  who  stood  in  rather  high 
official  position.  The  sufferings  at  Valley  Forge  were  due, 
not  to  the  absence  of  provisions  in  the  neighborhood,  but  to 
the  inefficiency  of  the  Quarter-master's  department.  The 
great  junket  which  the  Pennsylvania  legislature  had  in  the 
darkest  days  of  the  Revolutionary  War — of  which  the  caterer's 
bill  for  damage  caused  when  our  fathers  got  drunk  and  broke 
the  dishes  is  still  in  existence  as  evidence — while  money  was  so 
badly  needed  for  the  patriot  cause,  reveals  a  condition  which 
could  hardly  exist  now.  It  is  unnecessary  to  belittle  the  ser- 
vices of  the  past,  but  a  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  all  was  not 
perfect,  and  that  we  have  not  deteriorated  from  high  standards 
into  a  state  of  trickery,  is  necessary  to  produce  the  state  of 
mind  which  will  enable  us  to  do  our  best  work.  I  know  a 
little  about  these  conditions  in  Washington's  time,  and  I  know 
a  little  today  about  the  political  conditions,  having  been  on  the 
fringe  of  politics  out  in  our  county  for  a  number  of  years;  and 
even  here,  where  one  might  expect  to  find  much  to  be  con- 
demned, there  is  abundant  ground  for  hope,  and  as  that  hope 
grows  up  the  inducement  for  earnest  work  increases.  Hence, 
I  would  encourage  this  school  to  lay  great  stress  on  its  history, 
to  make  it  yield  the  fruits  of  progress  in  the  present,  and  to 
appreciate  that  the  reputation  which  it  has  for  high-grade  work 
is  due,  at  least  in  part,  to  the  labors  of  its  ancestors. 


211 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF 
PENNSYLVANIA 

Response  of  Dr.  Felix  E.  Shelling 

I  BRING  to  you  all  the  hearty  greetings  of  the  big  institu- 
tion across  the  river,  to  which  your  chairman  has  so 
happily  alluded.  The  relations  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania to  the  Germantovv^n  Academy  have  been  of  long 
standing  and  ever  most  cordial.  I  cannot  feel  that  I  am  a 
stranger  amongst  you  w^hen  I  see  before  me  the  faces  of  so 
many  who  have  been  in  my  classes,  now  matured  with  that 
experience  that  comes  in  contact  with  the  world.  In  looking 
at  a  school  such  as  this  and  seeing  the  force  of  its  memories 
and  associations  upon  you  all,  I  am  reminded  of  one  of  the 
deepest  regrets  of  my  own  life.  I  was  never  able,  as  a  boy,  to 
go  to  school  for  any  long  period.  I  was  educated  in  that 
second-best  way,  the  way  of  tutors  and  private  teaching ;  and 
boyish  associations  and  memories  of  school  days  have  never 
griped  me  with  the  grappling-hooks  of  tender  recollection,  as 
they  have  you.  I  remember  some  years  ago  meeting  with  a 
very  clever  young  Englishman,  an  Oxford  man,  of  Oriel  Col- 
lege, who  had  been  trained  previously  at  Westminster  School. 
He  spoke  pleasantly  of  his  Oxford  days  and  of  the  notable 
people  that  he  had  known  and  met  ;  but  when  I  happened  to 
mention  a  certain  old  poet  named  Ben  Jonson,  his  face  became 
radiant.  He  said,  "he  was  a  great  author,  though  I  don't 
know  much  about  his  works  ;  but  there  is  a  picture  of  him  at 
school,  and  I  know  the  boys  used  to  say  that  he  was  a  '  bully 
fellow.'  "  In  a  consideration  of  our  schools  and  colleges  I 
think  that  we  are  apt  to  forget  how  little  a  college  can  do  for 
a  man  as  contrasted  with  what  a  school  can  do  for  a  boy.  It 
is  the  schoolmaster  that  hacks  at  the  block  of  marble,  realizing 

212 


The    University    of  Pennsylvania 

the  statue  that  is  concealed  therein.  It  is  he  alone  who  can 
make  or  mar  that  figure,  and  in  his  success  make  possible 
whatever  may  come  after.  We  who  teach  in  colleges  and 
universities  can  but  give  the  polish  and  the  finish;  both  of  them, 
after  all,  only  superficial  matters,  for  the  impressions,  the  bias 
of  mind,  and  the  direction  of  energy  which  makes  the  man  a 
success,  all  must  be  given  him  in  school,  if  success  is  ever  to 
attend  him.  The  hour  is  late,  and  there  are  others  I  see  who 
are  to  follow  me.  In  conclusion,  I  can  but  repeat  the  hearty 
greetings  which  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  extends  to  this, 
one  of  the  most  important  schools  that  contributes  students  to 
her  halls,  and  to  congratulate  you  heartily  upon  this  memor- 
able occasion. 


213 


THE  PROTESTANT 
EPISCOPAL  ACADEMY 

Response  of  Frederick  Clark,  Esq. 

IT  is  perhaps  pardonable  to  mention  the  fact  that  the  last 
time  I  had  the  pleasure  of  representing  the  Episcopal 
Academy  at  a  gathering  of  members  of  Germantown 
Academy  was  in  1895,  when  I  made  a  home  run.  I  was  in  a 
hurry  to  reach  home  then  ;  you  are  in  a  hurry  to  reach  home 
now.  It  could  not  be  otherwise  than  an  honor  to  be  present 
when  any  great  educational  organization  celebrates  its  one 
hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary,  but  it  is  a  real  pleasure  to  be 
here  this  evening  when  the  Alumni  of  Germantown  Academy 
gather  in  such  numbers  to  review  a  long  and  honorable  record 
of  accomplishment  and  to  formulate  plans  for  the  future. 
The  headmaster  of  the  Episcopal  Academy,  Dr.  Klapp,  who 
unfortunately  is  prevented  by  a  recent  illness  from  being  present, 
in  requesting  me  to  represent  the  Academy  instructed  me  to 
convey  to  you  on  behalf  of  himself,  the  Alumni  and  the  stu- 
dents their  most  hearty  congratulations  and  very  best  wishes. 
The  distinguished  British  commentator  on  American  institu- 
tions has  said  in  one  part  of  his  book  that  the  political  education 
of  the  average  American  citizen,  when  compared  with  that  of 
the  average  European  citizen  is  very  high,  but  when  compared 
with  the  duties  and  responsibilities  which  the  theory  of  our 
government  places  upon  him,  manifestly  is  very  inadequate. 
And  it  seems  to  me  that  one  of  the  reasons  of  this  is  the  ten- 
dency of  the  people  at  large  not  to  discriminate  in  matters  of 
education.  There  is  a  crying  need  that  the  average  citizen 
should  learn  to  discriminate  between  the  best  and  that  which 
is  not  the  best  in  education.  In  communities  all  over  the  land 
which  are  not  so  favored  in  educational  facilities  as  this,  there 

214 


The   Protestant   Kpis c op al  Academy 

are  thousands  of  young  men  who,  by  reason  of  their  attending 
a  commercial  school  or  a  business  college,  believe  they  have  a 
real  education,  w^ho  do  not  realize  the  difference  between  an 
education  obtained  at  a  third-rate  college  and  one  obtained  at 
a  first-rate  college  or  a  great  university.  Now,  one  of  the 
results  of  the  work  of  such  schools  as  Germantown  Academy, 
Penn  Charter  and  the  Episcopal  Academy  is  to  counteract 
such  a  tendency.  By  striving  after  high  ideals  and  holding  to 
high  standards  they  leaven  the  whole  mass  and  set  an  example 
to  all.  Professor  Nathaniel  Shaler,  in  his  work,  "The  Citizen," 
says  that  men  rarely  attain  to  the  full  measure  of  their  capa- 
bilities, and  that  the  most  important  question  with  which 
education  is  concerned  is  that  of  training  the  individual  man 
so  that  he  may  attain  to  his  maximum  of  usefulness  to  himself 
and  others.     That  seems  to  me  to  be  a  very  true  statement. 

Dr.  Klapp  informed  me  that  if  he  had  been  able  to  be  here 
this  evening  he  wished  to  say  something  about  the  relative 
merits  of  the  New  England  schools  and  those  of  the  Middle 
States.  He  said  he  thought  he  had  conclusive  proof  that  the 
secondary  schools  of  the  Middle  States  were  equal  to  and 
probably  superior  to  those  of  New  England.  I  am  not  suffi- 
ciently familiar  with  the  details  of  educational  matters  to  know 
about  this  myself,  but  I  hope  it  is  true.  You  know  Mr. 
Sydney  George  Fisher,  in  one  of  his  admirable  books  on  Penn- 
sylvania, says  that  a  famous  New  Englander  scarcely  grows 
cold  in  his  grave  before  someone  writes  his  biography  or  erects 
a  monument  to  his  memory,  while  here  in  Pennsylvania  we 
neglect  the  memories  of  our  distinguished  men.  There  is  a 
great  deal  of  truth  in  that,  and  1  have  often  wondered  whether 
the  reputation  of  the  New  England  schools,  while  based  on 
real  merit,  was  not  very  much  enhanced  by  advertisement.  I 
can  wish  you  nothing  better  than  that  the  history  of  your 
work  in  the  past  may  be  repeated  in  the  future,  and  that  with 
the  advancing  years  these  three  great  schools,  Germantown 

215 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  Academy 

Academy,  Penn  Charter  and  the  Episcopal  Academy  may 
keep  step  together  in  the  onward  march  of  progress,  and  may 
shed  the  radiance  of  their  scholarship  over  the  community. 


2l6 


PENN  CHARTER  SCHOOL 

Response  of  Charles  L.  M'Keehan,  Esq. 

IT  is  nearly  eleven  o'clock,  and  prudence  dictates  that  I 
should  paraphrase  Dr.  Sharpless'  story  of  the  optimist  and 
remind  myself  that  you  are  tired  as  I  begin  this  speech, 
and  will  probably  be  a  good  deal  more  tired  when  I  end  it, 
unless  my  wit  consists  of  brevity.  As  I  listened  to  Mr.  Jen- 
kins' vivid  and  graceful  description  of  the  meeting  held  at 
Mackinett's  tavern  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  tonight, 
it  struck  me  that  there  is  quite  a  contrast  between  that  meet- 
ing and  this  one.  They  met  in  a  country  tavern  and  probably 
enjoyed  the  "good  cheer"  that  a  tavern  affords.  You  meet 
in  a  beautiful  hall  dedicated  to  education,  your  dinner  marked 
by  a  rule  of  "chaste  restraint."  They  met  in  an  humble 
spirit  and  in  the  hope  that  their  sons  might  receive  a  better 
education  than  their  fathers.  You  meet  to  thank  God  that 
their  hopes  were  realized  and  to  rejoice,  in  a  burst  of  mutual 
admiration,  that  your  sons  are  likely  to  receive  as  good  an 
education  as  their  fathers.  They  mec  as  British  subjects  in  a 
distant  colony  of  the  empire,  soon  to  be  called  on  to  shoulder 
their  muskets  and  defend  their  rights  in  battle-  You  meet  in 
the  full  possession  and  enjoyment  of  the  rights  and  blessings 
they  purchased  at  such  cost.  All  things  considered,  gentle- 
men, I  would  rather  be  present  at  this  meeting  than  at  that 
one,  but  I  congratulate  you  that  you  are  moved  to  commem- 
orate that  meeting,  and  Penn  Charter  joins  with  you  in  honor- 
ing the  memory  of  the  men  who  founded  this  Academy. 
There  is  a  good  deal  in  common  between  Germantown  and 
Penn  Charter,  and  it  dates  far  back.  Both  were  founded  in 
Colonial  days  and  both  were  founded  as  public  schools.  Both 
were  largely  indebted  for  their  early  success  to  the  influence 
and  support  of  the  Quakers — Penn  Charter,  of  course,  almost 

217 


A   History   of  The  Germantoivn  Academy 

entirely  so,  and  Germantown,  as  I  understand  it,  to  a  consid- 
erable extent.     Moreover,  at  the  outset  both  felt  the  same 
educational    influence.     Penn    Charter's     first     headmaster, 
George  Keith,  was  a  Scotchman  and  a  graduate  of  Edinburgh. 
Of  the  two  teachers  first  called  to  Germantown,  David  James 
Dove,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  English  school,  was  also 
Scotchman,  and,  as  I  am  informed,  a  graduate  of  Edinburgh. 
Someone  has  said,  in  speaking  of  the  early  Scotch  and  Scotch- 
Irish  schoolmasters  of  Pennsylvania,  that  "  it  would  be  easy 
to  point  out  the  features  of  the  older  academies  and  colleges 
that  bespeak  their  origin  as  not  from  Oxford  and  Cambridge, 
but  from  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh.     Their  ideal  was  distinct 
from  anything  in  England  or  on  the  Continent.     It  was  thor- 
oughly Scotch."     To  just  what   extent   this   is  true  of  your 
school  and  of  mine  I  do  not  know,  but  it  is  evident  that  in 
their  earliest  teachers  both  felt,  to  some  extent,  the  throb  and 
impulse    of    the    splendid    ideals    of    the    Scotch    universities. 
Having  so  much  in  common  in  early  days  it  is  not  surprising, 
and  I  think  it  is  very  gratifying,  that  the  tie  between  the  two 
schools  has  remained  a  close  one.     I  am  sure  that  we  would 
rather  win   from   Germantown   than   from   anyone   else,  and 
from  a  sporting  standpoint  that  is  a  high  mark  of  admiration 
and  respect.     As  most  of  you  know,  there  is  a  possibility  that 
before  very  long  Germantown  and  Penn  Charter  will  be  not 
only  old-time  friends  and  rivals,  but  also  near  neighbors.     For 
one  I  hope  that  it  may  be  so,  but  I  wish  to  say  that  if  Penn 
Charter  comes  to  Germantown,  she  will  not  come  in  the  spirit 
in  which  the  early  Yankees  went  to  New  York.     It  is  related 
that  in  Colonial  days  a  young  citizen  of  Massachusetts  walked 
into  the  counting  house  of  a  New  York  merchant,  presented 
letters  of   introduction  and   asked   for  employment.     Said  the 
merchant,  "Why  are  all  you  Yankees  coming  to  New  York?  " 
"Sir,"  replied  the  youth,  with  that  modest  assurance  so  char- 
acteristic of  the  tribe,  "  we  are  coming  to  take  charge  of  your 

2l8 


Penn    Charter   School 

business,  marry  your  daughters  and  administer  your  estates." 
We  will  not  come  with  any  such  intention  or  desire.  On  the 
contrary,  I  believe  that  each  school  will  be  stimulated  and  will 
be  all  the  more  successful  by  reason  of  the  proximity  of  the 
other.  Andover  and  Exeter,  founded  by  brothers,  are  only  a 
few  miles  distant  from  each  other.  In  the  case  of  the  Univer- 
sity Medical  School  and  the  Jefferson  Medical  School,  two  of 
the  greatest  medical  schools  in  the  country,  I  have  always 
thought  that  each  owed  its  success  in  large  part  to  the  prox- 
imity of  a  great  rival,  and  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the 
same  result  will  follow  if  these  two  old  schools  become  near 
neighbors. 

This  is  neither  the  time  nor  the  place  to  compare  them, 
and  neither  you  nor  I  could  qualify  as  impartial  judges  of  that 
question.  Possibly  an  impartial  judge  might  conclude  that 
it  is  a  case  of  six  of  one  and  a  half  dozen  of  the  other.  I 
simply  wish  to  say  that  the  six  to  which  I  belong  send  their 
hearty  good  wishes  to  the  other  half  dozen,  of  whom  a  few  are 
here  tonight,  and  it  is  our  hope  that  the  good  feeling  now 
existing  between  the  two  schools  may  long  continue,  and  that 
all  our  relations  and  contests  may  be  marked  by  a  generous 
and  friendly  rivalry,  whether  they  be  contests  in  which  we 
kick  with  our  upper  or  lower  extremities. 


219 


ADDRESS  DELIVERED  ON  DECEMBER 
6,  1909,  BY  CORNELIUS  WEYGANDT, 
Ph.D.,  G.  a. ,'87,  PROFESSOR  OF  ENGLISH 
LITERATURE  AT  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF 
PENNSYLVANIA,  BEFORE  THE  UN- 
DERGRADUATES OF  THE  ACADEMY 
AND  THE  SITE  AND  RELIC  SOCIETY, 
PREVIOUS  TO  THE  UNVEILING  OF  A 
MEMORIAL  TABLET  ON  THE  HOUSE, 
6019  MAIN  STREET. 


FOUNDING  OF 
GERMANTOWN  ACADEMY 

i^T  this  time  of  day  on  the  sixth  of  December,  one  hun- 
/  ^k  dred  and  fifty  years  ago,  the  Germantown  Academy 
JL  JL  was  but  a  dream  in  the  minds  of  the  burghers  of 
Germantown.  Seven  hours  later,  when  the  meeting  at  the 
house  of  Daniel  Mackinett  came  to  an  end,  that  dream  had 
begun  to  come  true.  How  many  of  the  men  there  gathered 
felt  that  the  long-desired  High  School  was  on  the  way  to 
realization  we  cannot  tell,  but  some  must  have  so  felt — Sauer, 
our  Germantown  printer  and  apostle  of  justice,  and  Christopher 
Meng,  master-mason  and  botanist  and,  probably,  architect  of 
the  first  building,  close  by  us  here — a  building  of  whose  old 
beauty  our  whole  town  is  proud.  I  take  it  that  these  two 
men  at  least  were  sanguine  of  the  dream's  fruition  or  they 
would  not  have  consented  to  serve  on  the  committee  to  raise 
funds  for  the  school's  building,  along  with  John  Jones,  yeoman, 
and  Charles  Bensell,  doctor  of  physick,  Daniel  Endt,  saddler, 
Baltus  Reser,  tanner,  and  the  genial  Mackinett. 

Is  it  possible  for  us  today  to  picture  the  best  of  our  old 
town  gathering  for  that  meeting,  the  meeting  we  commemorate 
today  ;  the  men  in  their  knickerbockers  and  long,  straight 
coats,  the  costume  of  that  early  day ;  some  in  their  simple  best 
of  homespun,  others  in  their  no  less  simple  but  costlier  best  of 
imported  cloth,  all  alike  muffled  up  well  in  great  coats  against 
the  north  wind  that  swept  down  the  dirt  road  that  is  now  our 
block-paved  Main  Street  ?  It  was  no  less  hard  that  day  than 
this,  its  deep  ruts  frozen  solid  from  a  changeable  December's 
sudden  return  of  cold.  After  the  plentiful  dinner  of  German 
Pennsylvania,  did  all  the  solid  men  of  old  Germantown  turn 
their  steps  to  Mackinett's — all  her  public-spirited  men,  trades- 
men,   merchants,    farmers    and    yeomen,    from    the    foot    of 

223 


A  History  of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

Neglce's  Hill  to  the  crest  of  Chestnut  Hill  and  from  the 
Wissahickon  on  the  west  to  the  Wingohocking  on  the  east  ? 
Again  we  must  say  we  do  not  know.  But  it  may  well  have 
been. 

At  any  rate,  I  like  to  think  that  at  least  the  men  who 
formed  the  original  subscription  committee  gathered  that  day 
at  Mackinett's.  Did  Baltus  Reser  and  Daniel  Endt  start  out 
together  from  their  homes  at  Fisher's  Lane  and  Germantown 
Road  and,  by  appointment,  pick  up  Christopher  Sauer  at 
Queen  Lane?  Did  the  three  together  stop  in  for  the  neighbors. 
Dr.  Charles  Bensell  and  John  Jones,  just  above  School  Lane; 
and  did  all  five  wait  upon  Christopher  Meng,  at  Vernon  Park, 
to  escort  him  to  Mackinett's  ?  I  like  to  think  of  them  flushed 
with  fighting  the  north  wind,  stamping  cheerfully  into  the 
tavern — then,  of  course,  the  most  reputable  place  of  assembly 
for  secular  meetings  in  the  town — stamping  into  the  tavern, 
and  receiving  there  a  greeting  that  warmed  their  hearts,  and 
perhaps  other  regions  adjacent,  from  friend  Mackinett. 

What  speeches,  I  wonder,  were  made  at  that  meeting  ? 
What  momentous  platitudes  rehearsed?  What  earnest  counsel 
for  the  betterment  of  their  loved  town?  There  were  plenty 
of  schools  about.  Surely  there  was  no  need  for  another  school 
where  the  three  R's  should  be  taught.  Both  Quakers  and 
Lutherans,  at  any  rate,  had  such  schools  in  the  town,  the  one 
taught  in  English,  the  other  in  German,  and  perhaps  the 
Mennonite  school  of  Dock  and  the  Moravian  school  at 
Bechtel's  were  still  continued  in  some  form  or  other.  At  this 
time,  too,  there  were  many  schools  in  the  country  round 
about.  Quaker  schools  at  Plymouth  Meeting,  Abington, 
Gwynedd  and  Byberry,  Presbyterian  schools  at  Neshaminy 
and  Deep  Run,  a  Baptist  school  in  Lower  Dublin,  Episcopal 
schools  at  White  Marsh  and  Oxford,  and  a  Lutheran  school 
building  at  Barren  Hill.  Surely  some  objector  arose  to  call 
attention  to  this  multiplicity  of  schools  through  the  country- 

224 


M 


o 


Founding    of   G  erman  town   Academy 

side,  and  to  the  Friends'  classical  academy  (Penn  Charter) 
and  to  the  College  and  Academy  of  Philadelphia  (The  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania)  in  the  nearby  city.  And  surely  the 
answer  was  made  from  several  quarters  that  these  schools  were 
all  either  too  far  away  or  not  high  enough  in  grade,  and 
perhaps  someone  ventured  to  say  that,  after  all,  each  one  of 
these  schools  was  sectarian  and  that  what  Germantown  needed 
was  a  real  Union  School,  that  should  be  what  in  those  days 
they  called  an  academy — and  we,  too,  today — or  a  college  pre- 
paratory school  or  high  school. 

The  rapidity  with  which  the  project  matured  is  proof  that 
the  meeting  was,  however,  on  the  whole,  entirely  harmonious. 
And  when  the  men  there  assembled  had  talked  through  mid- 
afternoon  and  the  sunset  hour  and  early  candle-light,  and 
came  to  go  home,  late,  perhaps,  for  supper  because  of  the 
enthusiasm  that  kept  them  there,  they  no  doubt  saw,  in  the 
spectacle  of  the  winter  constellations  that  confronted  them, 
the  augury  that  the  school  was  to  come  quickly  into  being. 
As  they  passed  out  of  the  front  door  of  the  Green  Tree  Tavern 
there  was  Vega  before  them,  brilliant  in  the  west,  and  above 
Vega,  in  the  Milky  Way  that  arched  the  heavens,  the  Northern 
Cross.  They  were  star-gazers,  these  burghers  of  old  German- 
town,  like  their  earlier  brethren  of  the  Kelpius  fraternity  of  the 
Woman  in  the  Wilderness  westward  on  the  Wissahickon,  and 
I  have  no  doubt  their  eyes  eagerly  swept  the  heavens  to  see 
if  the  signs  were  propitious.  Northward  they  saw  the  Great 
Dipper,  right  side  up,  and  southward  Andromeda  led  their  steps 
homeward.  Eastward,  Orion  was  swinging  up  from  the 
horizon,  close  to  the  just  risen  moon,  and  above  Orion,  half- 
way to  the  zenith,  the  Pleiades  and  Hyades.  Yes,  the  stars 
foretold  a  long  life  down  the  years  for  the  Academy  of 
Germantown  ! 

The  stars,  yes,  and  the  character  of  the  people  who  were 
at   that  hour  gathered    around  the  well-laden   tables  in  the 

225 


A  History    of  The  Germantown  Academy 

beautiful  old  houses  of  Germantown.  No  doubt  the  lights 
from  the  windows  were  more  noticed  by  the  returning  citizens 
than  the  glimmer  in  the  moonlight  of  the  mica  in  the  old 
stone  walls  of  the  houses  and  the  fine  lines  of  their  clustered 
outbuildings.  Perhaps  few  of  the  men  thought  of  the  quiet 
beauty  of  the  scene ;  the  staid,  comfortable  homes,  all  of  one 
order,  as  Kalm,  the  Swedish  naturalist,  noticed,  all  in  perfect 
harmony,  all  bitten  out  clearly  in  the  moonlight  against  the 
white  background,  and  above  them  the  stars  in  their  courses ! 
The  augury  of  the  future  was  surer,  I  have  said,  because  of 
the  character  of  the  people  of  Germantown,  than  because  of 
the  stars,  whatever  the  citizens  themselves  thought  of  it,  but 
it  was  surest  from  the  characters  of  the  particular  men  who 
were  working  for  the  school. 

They  had  so  organized  the  project  that  on  December  20th, 
only  two  weeks  after  that  memorable  meeting  at  Mackinett's, 
they  could  advertise  in  Franklin's  Pennsylvania  Gazette  another 
meeting  of  those  interested  in  the  school  on  January  i,  at  two 
o'clock  again,  at  the  house  of  Daniel  Mackinett,  when  every 
one  who  had  contributed  forty  shillings  towards  the  school 
should  have  a  vote  for  overseers  of  the  building,  to  be  elected 
at  that  meeting.  But  two  of  the  seven  men  there  elected  as 
managers  of  the  building  were  of  the  original  group  of  seven 
who  received  subscriptions — Christopher  Meng  and  Baltus 
Reser.  To  this  nucleus  from  the  original  seven  were  added 
Conrad  Weaver,  the  miller  of  Harper's  Dam  ;  Jacob  Coleman, 
who  ran  a  stage-coach  line  from  the  King  of  Prussia  Tavern 
to  the  city;  Peter  Leibert,  lumber  merchant  and  later  partner 
of  Billmaier  as  printer  and  publisher;  John  Bringhurst,  the 
wagon  builder,  who  was  part  owner  of  the  land  on  which  the 
school  was  built ;  and  Jacob  Engle,  of  the  family  of  tanners, 
another  of  whose  members  built  the  old  Engle  house  just  above 
the  Town  Hall.  Richard  Johnson,  of  the  old  Germantown 
family,  always  associated  with  the  school,  was  the  treasurer  of 

226 


Founding   of   Germantown   Academy 

the  company.  The  thirteen  original  trustees  included  Sauer 
and  Mackinett  and  John  Jones  and  Dr.  Bensell  only,  of  those 
previously  mentioned.  An  important  addition  was  that  of 
Thomas  Rose,  one  of  the  town's  assessors  and  the  first  cleric 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  to  whose  well-phrased  and  clearly- 
written  minutes  we  owe  most  of  our  knowledge  of  the  school 
from  its  inception  on  to  1778,  when  its  discontinuance  was 
forced  by  the  Revolution.  Jacob  Keyser  and  John  Bowman 
and  Benjamin  Engle  were  other  representatives  on  the  Board 
of  old  Germantown  families  that  are  still  in  old  Germantown. 
The  Reverend  George  Alsentz,  pastor  of  the  German  Re- 
formed Church  on  Market  Square,  was  another  trustee. 
Jacob  Neglee  represented  the  lower  part  of  the  town  and 
Thomas  Livezey  represented  the  outlying  districts  on  the 
upper  Wissahickon.  David  Deshler,  the  Philadelphia  merchant 
who  built  the  Morris  house  opposite  Church  Lane,  represented 
another  element  on  the  Board.  If  he  came  to  the  first 
meeting  by  chance  in  the  regalia  of  full  dress  he  assumed  on 
important  occasions,  he  must  have  been  indeed  resplendent. 
He  was  addicted  to  an  "olive-colored  silk  velvet,  with  knee 
breeches  and  silk  stockings,  bright  silver  shoe  buckles,  and  the 
usual  three-cornered  hat."  You  may  wonder  why  I  have 
named  each  of  these  men  interested  in  the  very  beginnings  of 
the  Germantown  Academy.  I  have  mentioned  them  because 
I  would  recall  honor  where  honor  is  due,  I  have  mentioned 
them  because  these  names  make  most  of  the  roll  call  of  what 
was  best  in  the  life  of  Germantown  of  that  day.  And  then 
there  was  Joseph  Galloway,  the  most  noted  man  on  the 
Board  ! 

The  presence  of  Galloway  on  the  Board  leads  to  many 
conjectures.  We  wonder  what  local  affiliations  he  had  with 
Germantown  save  that  he  was  a  close  friend  of  Thomas 
Livezey.  Galloway  was  a  prominent  politician,  the  leader  of 
the  Quaker  opposition  to  the  Proprietary  in  the  Pennsylvania 

227 


A  History   of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

Assembly,  and  as  such  necessarily  in  alliance  with  the  Germans. 
He  became  interested  in  the  school,  I  think,  in  his  role  of 
politician,  though,  perhaps, he  would  rather  have  had  his  interest 
attributed  to  his  concern  with  education  and  general  philan- 
thropy. Whether  he  volunteered  his  support  of  the  school  or 
whether  Sauer  asked  it  is  not,  perhaps,  very  important.  It  is 
enough  that  so  prominent  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Assembly  was  glad  to  be  on  the  Board  of  the  Germantown 
Union  School.  Yet  we  cannot  help  thinking  that  if  Sauer, 
with  his  paper,  helped  Galloway  in  his  political  projects  it  was 
the  least  that  Galloway  could  do  to  help  Sauer  towards  the 
realization  of  the  school  whose  success  the  German  printer 
had  so  much  at  heart.  Sauer  was,  unquestionably,  deeply 
interested  in  education  although,  like  many  Germans,  he  re- 
sented the  Schlatter  scheme  to  give  his  people  an  English 
education.  Did  Galloway  choose  to  become  so  interested 
with  the  purpose  of  influencing  the  political  attitude  of  the 
oncoming  generation  ? 

1  do  not  wish  to  make  too  much  of  the  association  of 
Galloway,  the  politician,  with  the  school.  It  may  well  have 
been  that  Galloway,  the  public-spirited  Pennsylvanian,  had  an 
unselfish  interest  in  the  Germantown  Union  School.  But 
when  you  read  the  names  of  the  Philadelphia  Quaker  mer- 
chants, only  a  few  of  whom  had  any  direct  interest  in  German- 
town  through  residence,  or  any  great  interest  in  education 
per  se,  among  the  contributors  to  the  school  to  the  number  of 
one-third  and  more  of  the  principal  subscribers — the  subscribers 
with  whom  the  trustees  contracted  to  run  the  school — you 
must  wonder  as  to  just  what  was  the  nature  of  their  association 
with  the  project.  James  Pemberton  was,  perhaps,  really 
interested  in  education,  and  John  Baynton  and  Benjamin 
Shoemaker  had  houses  hereabouts;  but  what  of  Dr.  Samuel 
Preston  Moore  and  William  Moore,  and  Thomas  Wharton 
and  Samuel  Wharton,  and  George  Emlen  and  Reese  Meredith, 

228 


Founding   of   Germantown   Academy 

and  John  Potts  and  Samuel  Powell,  and  Joseph  Fox  and 
Joseph  Galloway  ?  Why  were  all  these  subscribers  to  the 
building  fund  of  the  school?  Perhaps  they  gave  of  their 
money  with  altruistic  motives,  as  no  doubt  did  our  German- 
town  citizens ;  and,  perhaps,  if  their  motives  were  not  altruistic 
they  were  inspired  to  give  as  much  through  trade  relations  as 
by  politics.  The  Philadelphia  Quaker  merchants,  no  doubt, 
sold  largely  to  Germantowners  and  wished  to  do  what  would 
be  pleasing  to  their  patrons. 

I  would  not  insist  upon  the  point  at  all  were  it  not  further 
significant  that  Galloway  was  an  enemy  of  the  Reverend  Dr. 
William  Smith,  the  provost  of  the  College  and  Academy  of 
Philadelphia,  and  that  hardly  one  of  those  interested  in  the 
Germantown  Academy  was  in  anyway  associated  with  the 
institution  in  Philadelphia  whose  lower  school,  at  any  rate,  the 
Germantown  Union  School  was  to  rival.  Smith,  too,  was 
opposed  by  Sauer,  because  of  the  provost's  support  of  the 
Schlatter  scheme.  Add  to  these  considerations  the  desire  of 
Pelatiah  Webster,  who  succeeded  David  James  Dove  as 
master  of  the  English  school  in  1763,  to  give  what  were 
virtually  college  courses  in  the  school,  and  you  cannot  but 
suspect  that  some  one,  at  any  rate,  of  the  trustees  was 
ambitious  to  build  up  an  educational  institution  in  German- 
town  where,  what  that  day  considered,  the  higher  studies  were 
to  be  given.  It  is  pertinent  to  remark  further,  that  from  the 
very  start,  it  was  Galloway  who  drew  up  all  '  articles,  con- 
cessions, and  agreements,"  who  attended  to  such  legal  business 
as  was  required  in  the  conduct  of  the  school,  and  who,  from 
the  tone  of  the  minutes,  was  evidently  looked  up  to  as  the  man 
to  be  considered.  At  the  meeting  on  New  Year's  Day,  1760, 
it  was  reported  that  "  a  considerable  number,  both  of  said 
town  (Germantown),  and  places  adjacent"  had  become  con- 
tributors, and  the  money  continued  to  come  in  so  quickly  that 
by  April  21,  1760,  the  founders  of  the  school  were  warranted 

229 


A  History    of  The  German  town  A  cademy 

in  laying  the  cornerstones  for  the  "  large  commodious  school- 
house  "  that  the  original  meeting  at  Mackinett's  had  demanded. 
There  was  evidently  much  talk  about  the  school  both  before 
and  after  the  actual  building  began,  and  in  Philadelphia  as 
well  as  in  Germantown;  the  Reverend  Andrew  Burnaby,  a 
young  Englishman  of  the  Established  Church,  who  visited 
Philadelphia  in  June  of  this  year,  being  sufBciently  impressed  to 
make  mention  that  "a  considerable  one  (school)  is  going  to 
be  erected  in  Germantown." 

We  have  to  thank  the  Rev.  Mr.  Burnaby  for  telling  us 
what  sort  of  a  day  it  was  when  the  cornerstones  were  laid  on 
April  2ist.  There  had  been  thunderstorms  the  day  before  and 
the  wind  was  east,  but  it  was,  as  his  weather  informant 
records,  quite  clear.  It  would  be  interesting  to  conjure  up,  if 
we  could,  a  picture  of  our  green  country  town,  on  that 
propitious  April  day,  with  its  "  gardens  and  thrifty  out- 
buildings"  that  delighted  the  German  Schoepf.  We  know 
little  of  what  they  did  at  the  laying  of  the  four  cornerstones, 
only  that  eleven  trustees  and  several  of  the  managers  and  some 
of  the  contributors  were  there,  and  we  know  nothing  of  what 
they  put  in  the  cornerstones.  Would  it  not  be  an  interesting 
feature  of  our  ceremonies  in  the  coming  April  to  open  these 
old  cornerstones  for  what  records  they  might  contain  ?  There 
will  be  no  beneficent  genii  imprisoned  there  to  bring  back  to 
us  our  old  town  as  it  was  at  the  gracious  end  of  that  old  April, 
but  perhaps  we  can  obtain  some  glimpse  of  it  from  what  of  the 
old  town  is  still  with  us.  Even  now  there  are  places  in  the 
town,  and  on  its  Main  Street,  too,  where  in  late  April  there 
is  scent  on  the  air  of  plum  bloom  and  cherry  bloom  and  where, 
through  the  interstices  of  the  old  houses,  you  can  catch  sight 
of  the  white  loveliness  of  these  fruit  trees,  so  truly  symbolic  of 
the  Rhineland  whence  our  forefathers  came.  Try  to  re-create 
from  some  such  glimpse  what  was  the  beauty  of  the  old  town 
that  April,  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  when  on  all 

230 


Founding  of   Germantown   Academy 

sides  the  country  flowed  up  to  the  back  doors  of  the  three 
hundred  houses,  almost  all  on  the  pike,  that  made  the  town. 

And,  after  all,  is  it  so  difficult  to  bring  back  that  past  ?  It 
is  not  so  far  back,  five  generations,  that  is  all.  And  there  are 
those  yet  among  us  whose  memory  carries  them  back  to  when 
Germantown  was  not  so  very  different  from  what  German- 
town  was  when  the  Academy  was  built.  There  are  those  yet 
among  us  to  whom  Germantown  Road  is  *'  the  Pike  "  and 
Green  Street  "  the  Lane."  It  is  the  privilege  of  Germantown, 
as  of  few  places  in  America,  to  have  the  past  yet  present. 

The  school  was  not  ready  to  be  opened,  as  we  all  know, 
until  almost  the  fall  of  1761,  whenon  August  nth  it  began  its 
long  period  of  great  service  to  our  community,  with  David 
James  Dove  as  master  of  the  English  school  and  Thomas 
Pratt  as  his  usher.  Both  of  these  men  had  been  connected 
with  the  College  and  Academy  of  Philadelphia — Dove  as 
master  of  the  English  school  and  Pratt  as  one  of  the  ushers. 
Hilarius  Becker,  who  had  kept  a  German  school  in  German- 
town,  became  master  of  the  German  school,  into  which  were 
gathered,  by  1762,  seventy-one  children.  In  the  English 
school  at  this  time  were  sixty  pupils,  a  lesser  number 
than  there  were  in  the  German  school,  not  because  the 
town  was  still  dominantly  German,  but  because  Latin  and 
Greek  and  mathematics  as  well  as  the  three  R's  and  religious 
instruction  "  were  subjects  there,  and  there  were  fewer, 
naturally,  who  wished  the  higher  education.  The  school  was 
thus  at  the  start  almost  of  the  same  numbers  as  the  Academy 
department  of  the  College  and  Academy  of  Philadelphia,  in 
which,  in  1 759,  there  were  one  hundred  and  thirty  boys  enrolled, 
with  twenty  more  in  the  College  department. 

The  old  prospectuses  of  the  Germantown  Union  School 
tell  us  explicitly  its  purposes  and  what  it  was  intended  to  teach; 
the  minutes  of  the  trustees  reveal  that  the  purposes  were 
attained  and  the  branches  so  advertised  taught.     One  prospec- 


231 


A  History  of  The  G ermantow n  Academy 

tus  states  "  that  the  said  schoolhouse  shall  be  free  to  all  persons 
of  what  denomination  soever  and  wheresoever  residing,  to 
send  their  children  thereto,  without  any  regard  to  name  or 
sect  of  people ;  provided  they  be  regular  and  subject  to  the 
proper  and  necessary  regulations  of  the  master  and  trustees." 
The  course  of  study  according  to  these  agreements  was  to 
include  "  reading,  writing,  and  learning  of  languages  and  useful 
arts  and  sciences  .  .  .  and  it  is  further  the  intent  and  mean- 
ing hereof  that  if  any  more  teachers  are  necessary  for  teaching 
the  Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew  languages,  or  in  any  part  of 
erudition,  the  trustees  shall  provide  the  same."  There  is  here 
every  evidence  of  toleration  and  enlightenment,  so  much 
enlightenment  and  toleration,  indeed,  as  even  those  conversant 
with  the  history  of  this  old  time  would  hardly  be  prepared  for 
unless  they  had  given  close  study  to  the  spirit  of  our  old  town. 
The  Pennsylvania-German  descendant  of  the  German  of 
this  old  time  is  popularly  regarded  as  almost  an  enemy  of  higher 
education,  and  his  ancestor,  by  those  who  argue  back  from 
our  present-day  Pennsylvania  German,  is  not  generally  recog- 
nized to  be  dififerent  from  the  popular  conception  of  his  descend- 
ant. Those  who  hold  this  opinion  should  read  "  The  Man- 
ners of  the  German  Inhabitants  of  Pennsylvania,"  by  Dr. 
Benjamin  Rush,  who,  in  doing  the  Pennsylvania  Germans  no 
more  than  justice,  wrote,  thirty  years  after  the  founding  of  our 
Academy,  so  as  to  confute  the  conception,  popular  even  in 
that  day,  that  Pennsylvania  Germans  had  not  even  the  three 
R's.  A  more  complete  refutation  is  their  part  in  the  founda- 
tion of  our  school.  It  seems  to  me  a  triumph  of  toleration 
that  at  that  date  men  so  different  in  faith  and  so  set  in  their 
ways  as  Quaker  and  German  Reformed,  as  Mennonite  and 
Lutheran,  as  Tunker  and  Separatist,  should  join  heartily,  as 
men  of  these  faiths  did  join,  in  founding  the  Germantown 
Academy.  But  Germantown  was  indeed  a  tolerant  place 
even  in  those  days.     In  1760  both  the  Lutheran  and  German 

232 


Founding   of   Germantown   Academy 

Reformed  Churches  in  Germantown  gave  over  the  use  of  their 
buildings  at  times  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Neil,  the  Episcopal  clergy- 
man at  Whitemarsh,  to  hold  services  in  in  English.  This 
does  not  seem  to  indicate  that  anti-English  feeling  among  the 
Germans,  the  spectre  of  w^hich,  at  times,  so  agitated  Franklin. 
The  Germantown  Union  School  was  indeed  a  union  school,  for 
the  men  who  made  it  were  not  only  of  diflerent  faiths  but  of 
different  bloods.  German,  Dutchman,  Swede  and  Englishman 
were  all  represented  among  the  twenty-two  men  that  may  be 
considered  the  founders  of  the  Academy. 

After  its  first  three  years  the  school  seems  to  have  run 
down.  Perhaps  its  decline  was  partly  because  of  Pelatiah 
Webster  failing  to  measure  up  to  the  stature  of  Dove,  who, 
despite  his  cantankerousness,  had  a  large  following  and  was  a 
good  teacher.  At  any  rate  it  did  decline  from  1763  on  and 
did  not  come  up  again  until  Thomas  Dungan,  a  graduate  of 
the  College  of  Philadelphia  in  the  class  of  1765  and  later  a 
teacher  there,  took  hold  of  the  school  in  1774.  But  the  war 
of  the  Revolution  called  him  away  in  1777  to  become  a  cap- 
tain. From  1778  to  1784  the  school  was  closed  "  on  account 
of  the  distressed  times,"  as  the  old  minute  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  has  it.  Although  there  was  a  meeting  in  the  school 
on  May  i,  1775,  in  response  to  the  call  to  arms  following  the 
news  from  New  England,  I  am  afraid  we  must  own  in  all 
candor  that  as  many  of  those  interested  in  the  school  were 
Tories  as  Patriots.  Dungan  was  by  no  means  the  only  man 
connected  with  the  school  that  took  the  revolutionary  side, 
William  Moore,  of  the  contributors,  for  instance,  being,  late 
in  the  struggle,  President  of  the  Supreme  Council  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  virtually  War  Governor  of  Pennsylvania.  But  over 
against  these  names  are  those  of  Joseph  Galloway,  militant 
Tory,  and  Christopher  Sauer,  whose  non-combatant  views  did 
not  save  his  property  from  confiscation  as  that  of  a  sympathizer 
with  England.     There  were  others,  too,  of  those  interested 

233 


A  History  of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

in  the  school  that  took  the  attitude  against  change  natural  in 
conservative,  moneyed  men ;  others  who  are  to  be  numbered 
among  the  Loyalists.  Let  us  remember,  too,  that  in  August, 
1777,  the  doors  of  the  school  were  not  opened  to  the  sick  sol- 
diers of  General  Washington's  army  as  it  was  requested  they 
should  be;  and  let  us  remember  that  the  crown  of  England 
still  surmounts  the  weather-vane  on  the  old  schoolhouse,  one 
of  the  few  emblems  of  one-time  British  sovereignty  still  in 
place  as  in  the  old  days  before  there  was  a  United  States  of 
America.  Political  dissensions  in  the  Board  or  the  fact  that 
many  of  its  members  were  on  the  anti-independence  side  before 
the  war,  also,  perhaps,  had  something  to  do  with  the  decline 
of  the  school  after  its  most  auspicious  opening  years. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  chronicle  the  ups  and  downs  of  the 
Germantown  Academy  from  the  Revolution  to  the  present 
day — that  is  the  function  of  the  history  we  are  to  publish  next 
April — but  rather  to  state,  in  what  else  I  have  to  say,  what  have 
been  and  are  the  ideals  of  the  school.  The  Germantown 
Academy,  like  other  schools,  has  had  many  ups  and  downs 
both  in  old  times  and  in  recent  times.  Fortunately,  at  this  our 
time  of  rejoicing  over  the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  the  founding  of  the  old  school  it  is  growing  stronger  day  by 
day.  It  is  today  the  function  of  the  Germantown  Academy, 
as  it  has  been  its  function  always,  to  be  a  school  of  gentlemen, 
taught  by  gentlemen  ;  to  be  a  school  where  scholars  who  know 
something  of  the  world  teach  boys  who  are  destined  to  become 
men  of  affairs  and  of  the  professions.  Do  you  all  know  the 
record  Dr.  Kershaw  read  to  our  Board  of  Trustees  at  our  last 
meeting,  the  record  of  Germantown  Academy  boys  recently 
graduated,  who  last  year  took  high  honors  in  college  ?  At  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  last  June,  a  prize  was  given  to 
Edmund  Newton  Harvey  for  graduating  first  in  his  class,  and 
for  being  head  of  his  class  for  each  of  the  four  years  of  his 
course,  and  at  the  Class  Day  exercises,  three  of  the  orators, 

234 


Founding   of   German  town   Academy 

Messrs.  Brown,  Barrett  and  Sheble,  were  Germantown  Acad- 
emy boys,  and  Sheble  also  carried  off  second  honors.  At 
Princeton,  S.  Butler  Murray  carried  off  first  honor  in  classics, 
and  also  a  fellowship  in  classics  and  archeology,  and  S.  S, 
Spaeth  was  awarded  a  fellowship  in  English.  At  Haverford, 
Walter  J.  Sandt  carried  off  a  teaching  fellowship.  At  Lehigh 
University,  Arthur  Wells  won  the  competitive  English  prize. 
May  I,  without  impropriety,  add  that  the  boys  that  today 
come  to  us  at  Pennsylvania  make  me  feel  proud  that  I  am  of 
the  fellowship,  that  I  was  once  a  Germantown  Academy  boy. 

There  are  a  few  schools  older  than  ours  in  America. 
There  are  many  schools  older  than  ours  in  England.  Win- 
chester, with  1387  as  its  date  of  foundation;  Eton,  with  1441 
as  its  date  of  foundation  ;  Rugby,  with  1567  as  its  date  of  foun- 
dation ;  and  Harrow,  with  157 1  as  its  date  of  foundation,  make 
our  date  of  foundation,  1759,  seem  very  recent  indeed.  Yet 
it  is  old,  very  old,  for  America.  Its  founders,  with  that  confi- 
dence in  institutions  that  belongs  to  a  slow-changing  age,  had 
supreme  faith  that  it  would  grow  old,  that  it  would  live  long 
into  the  future.  These  men  that  gathered  at  the  house  of 
Daniel  Mackinett  on  Thursday,  the  sixth  day  of  December, 
1759,  determined  that  the  "commodious  building"  they  were 
to  erect  should  include  "  two  rooms  on  the  lower  floor  for  the 
use  of  English  and  High  Dutch  or  German  schools,  and  be 
continued  for  that  use,  and  no  other,  forever."  Notice  that 
"forever"  !  It  was  not  so  to  be.  In  the  yellow-fever  times, 
in  1798,  these  rooms  were  occupied  by  the  Bank  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  the  Bank  of  North  America.  That  use  was  for 
some  other  than  a  school,  but  probably  most  old  schools  have 
at  some  time  down  the  ages  been  forced  out  of  their  rooms. 

This  is  not,  however,  to  the  point.  What  I  wished  was 
to  recall  how  calmly  the  founders  of  Germantown  Academy 
looked  forward  into  the  ages  that  were  to  follow.  Can  we 
look  forward  as  calmly  ?     Can  we  see  Germantown  Academy 

235 


A  History  of  The    Germantown  Academy 

as  old  as  Winchester  ?  Five  hundred  years  old,  and  more? 
Will  Germantown  Academy  last  ?  Will  any  school  in  America 
last  so  long  in  this  so  rapidly  changing  modern  time?  Be  that 
as  it  may,  the  age  of  the  Germantown  Academy  at  this  present 
day  is  a  great  distinction  and  advantage,  a  distinction  and 
advantage  all  the  greater  that  the  world  is  now  so  rapidly 
changing.  An  old  school  with  such  a  history  as  is  ours,  an 
old  school  with  so  long-continued  ideals  as  ours,  is  rare  in  our 
American  life.  A  boy  in  such  a  school,  in  a  building  where 
his  forerunners  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  have  sat, 
has  a  chance  to  visualize  and  re-create  the  old  life  of  our  town 
and,  through  that,  of  our  country,  such  as  falls  to  the  lot  of 
but  few.  Do  we  of  Germantown  realize  this  in  all  that  it 
means  ?  I  think  those  of  us  who  are  in  the  old  school  do, 
else  they  had  not  so  quickly  subscribed  to  the  tablet.  I  think 
the  members  of  the  Site  and  Relic  Society  do,  too,  else  they 
would  not  have  so  generously  aided  the  boys  of  the  school ; 
but  we  of  the  alumni  and  trustees  would  wish  all  of  our  citi- 
zens to  realize  that  here  is  a  school  that  offers  unwonted 
opportunities  to  its  students  to  behold  the  pageant  of  the  past, 
to  preserve  the  traditions  of  the  past.  I  am  not  of  those  who 
hold  "my  country  right  or  wrong  but  still  my  country."  I 
believe  rather  in  "my  country  and  its  uplift.*'  This  I  think 
the  cry  of  a  higher  patriotism. 

Nor  am  I  of  those  who  hold  what  I  have  is  better  than 
what  my  neighbor  has  simply  because  it  is  mine.  That  is  the 
lower  provincialism.  But  the  higher  provincialism  I  hold  to 
stoutly.  That  higher  provincialism,  as  I  see  it,  considers  with 
loving  kindliness  the  things  of  home,  the  home  folks,  the  home 
town,  its  institutions  and  habits  and  customs,  considers  them 
with  loving  kindliness  and  ponders  over  them  until  their  full 
significance  is  realized.  The  man  who  holds  to  the  higher 
provincialism  must  know  the  greatest  things  that  are  known 
and  thought   in  the  world,  and  must   realize   the   relation   in 

236 


Founding   of   Germantown   Academy 

which  the  things  of  home,  maybe  little,  maybe  big,  stand  to 
the  great  things  of  the  centre — the  best  that  is  known  and 
thought  in  the  world. 

The  higher  provincialism  realizes  that  the  study  of  geog- 
raphy and  geology  and  botany  and  zoology,  these  natural 
sciences,  and  the  study  of  history  among  the  historical  sciences, 
if  not  the  study  of  literature,  begins  at  home.  I  am  certain 
that  I  have  read  Longfellow  with  more  interest  because  his 
brother  Samuel,  then  pastor  of  the  Unitarian  Church  at  the 
corner  above,  used  often  to  walk  home  with  me  and  other 
Germantown  Academy  boys  over  "  twenty  golden  years  ago." 
Nor  do  I  read  Walt  Whitman  with  a  less  interest  because  that 
room  over  there  in  the  old  building  has  been  dignified  by  his 
presence  on  his  visits  to  Germantown  Academy  boys  in  their 
school  hours.  That  Bronson  Alcott  taught  here  in  the  thirties 
brings  me  nearer  to  the  Concord  of  Emerson  and  Hawthorne. 

In  literary  art,  as  in  pedagogy,  the  beginnings  are  at  home. 
The  man  who  will  do  great  work  in  literature  must  write 
about  things  that  are  as  familiar  to  him  as  his  own  dooryard. 
Let  him  learn  his  technique  where  he  may,  the  subject  mate- 
rial he  must  find  at  home.  Because  we  of  Pennsylvania  have 
not  realized  this  is  one  reason  why  we  have  not  succeeded  in 
literature  as  we  have  in  natural  science.  There  is  no  better 
illustration  of  the  higher  provincialism  than  Dickens.  The 
London  slums  made  "Oliver  Twist.''  There  is  no  better 
illustration  than  Thomas  Hardy.  The  Dorsetshire  that  he 
overlooks  from  his  house,  Max  Gate,  gave  him  "Tess  of  the 
D'Ubervilles."  As  it  is  with  English  literature  in  England  so 
it  is  with  English  literature  in  America.  New  England  corner- 
store  philosophy  raised  to  a  high  power  by  the  earnestness  of 
Calvinism  made  Emerson.  What  smack  of  the  soil  and  what 
poetry  is  there  in  "  Hitch  your  wagon  to  a  star."  The  Puri- 
tan conscience  made  "The  Scarlet  Letter."  Realizing  him- 
self while  watching  the  Atlantic  roll  up  the  Jersey  beach  made 

237 


A  History  of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

"  Patrolling  Barnegat  "  for  Walt  Whitman.     Let  noble  words 
of  his  sum  up  the  thought  I  would  leave  with  you : 

"  Will  you  seek  afar  off  ?     You  surely  come  back  at  last 
In  things  best  known  to  you  finding  the  best,  or  as  good  as  the  best ; 
In  folks  nearest  to  you  finding  the  sweetest,  strongest,  lovingest ; 
Happiness,   knowledge  not  in   another  place   but   this   place — not   for 
another  hour  but  this  hour." 


238 


ADDRESS  DELIVERED  ON  DECEMBER 
6th  by  CHARLES  F.  JENKINS,  ESQ.,  A 
MANAGER  OF  SWARTHMORE  COL- 
LEGE AND  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  SITE 
AND  RELIC  SOCIETY  OF  GERMAN- 
TOWN,  BEFORE  THE  ALUMNI  OF  THE 
GERMANTOWN  ACADEMY,  ON  THE 
ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTIETH  ANNI- 
VERSARY OF  THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE 
SCHOOL 


Founding   of   Germantown   Academy 

and  John  Potts  and  Samuel  Powell,  and  Joseph  Fox  and 
Joseph  Galloway  ?  Why  were  all  these  subscribers  to  the 
building  fund  of  the  school?  Perhaps  they  gave  of  their 
money  with  altruistic  motives,  as  no  doubt  did  our  German- 
town  citizens  ;  and,  perhaps,  if  their  motives  were  not  altruistic 
they  were  inspired  to  give  as  much  through  trade  relations  as 
by  politics.  The  Philadelphia  Quaker  merchants,  no  doubt, 
sold  largely  to  Germantowners  and  wished  to  do  what  would 
be  pleasing  to  their  patrons. 

I  would  not  insist  upon  the  point  at  all  were  it  not  further 
significant  that  Galloway  was  an  enemy  of  the  Reverend  Dr. 
William  Smith,  the  provost  of  the  College  and  Academy  of 
Philadelphia,  and  that  hardly  one  of  those  interested  in  the 
Germantown  Academy  was  in  anyway  associated  with  the 
institution  in  Philadelphia  whose  lower  school,  at  any  rate,  the 
Germantown  Union  School  was  to  rival.  Smith,  too,  was 
opposed  by  Sauer,  because  of  the  provost's  support  of  the 
Schlatter  scheme.  Add  to  these  considerations  the  desire  of 
Pelatiah  Webster,  who  succeeded  David  James  Dove  as 
master  of  the  English  school  in  1763,  to  give  what  were 
virtually  college  courses  in  the  school,  and  you  cannot  but 
suspect  that  some  one,  at  any  rate,  of  the  trustees  was 
ambitious  to  build  up  an  educational  institution  in  German- 
town  where,  what  that  day  considered,  the  higher  studies  were 
to  be  given.  It  is  pertinent  to  remark  further,  that  from  the 
very  start,  it  was  Galloway  who  drew  up  all  "articles,  con- 
cessions, and  agreements,"  who  attended  to  such  legal  business 
as  was  required  in  the  conduct  of  the  school,  and  who,  from 
the  tone  of  the  minutes,  was  evidently  looked  up  to  as  the  man 
to  be  considered.  At  the  meeting  on  New  Year's  Day,  1760, 
it  was  reported  that  "  a  considerable  number,  both  of  said 
town  (Germantown),  and  places  adjacent"  had  become  con- 
tributors, and  the  money  continued  to  come  in  so  quickly  that 
by  April  21,  1760,  the  founders  of  the  school  were  warranted 

229 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  Academy 

in  laying  the  cornerstones  for  the  "  large  commodious  school- 
house  "  that  the  original  meeting  at  Mackinett's  had  demanded. 
There  was  evidently  much  talk  about  the  school  both  before 
and  after  the  actual  building  began,  and  in  Philadelphia  as 
well  as  in  Germantown;  the  Reverend  Andrew  Burnaby,  a 
young  Englishman  of  the  Established  Church,  who  visited 
Philadelphia  in  June  of  this  year,  being  sufficiently  impressed  to 
make  mention  that  "a  considerable  one  (school)  is  going  to 
be  erected  in  Germantown." 

We  have  to  thank  the  Rev.  Mr.  Burnaby  for  telling  us 
what  sort  of  a  day  it  was  when  the  cornerstones  were  laid  on 
April  2ist.  There  had  been  thunderstorms  the  day  before  and 
the  wind  was  east,  but  it  was,  as  his  weather  informant 
records,  quite  clear.  It  would  be  interesting  to  conjure  up,  if 
we  could,  a  picture  of  our  green  country  town,  on  that 
propitious  April  day,  with  its  "  gardens  and  thrifty  out- 
buildings"  that  delighted  the  German  Schoepf.  We  know 
little  of  what  they  did  at  the  laying  of  the  four  cornerstones, 
only  that  eleven  trustees  and  several  of  the  managers  and  some 
of  the  contributors  were  there,  and  we  know  nothing  of  what 
they  put  in  the  cornerstones.  Would  it  not  be  an  interesting 
feature  of  our  ceremonies  in  the  coming  April  to  open  these 
old  cornerstones  for  what  records  they  might  contain  ?  There 
will  be  no  beneficent  genii  imprisoned  there  to  bring  back  to 
us  our  old  town  as  it  was  at  the  gracious  end  of  that  old  April, 
but  perhaps  we  can  obtain  some  glimpse  of  it  from  what  of  the 
old  town  is  still  with  us.  Even  now  there  are  places  in  the 
town,  and  on  its  Main  Street,  too,  where  in  late  April  there 
is  scent  on  the  air  of  plum  bloom  and  cherry  bloom  and  where, 
through  the  interstices  of  the  old  houses,  you  can  catch  sight 
of  the  white  loveliness  of  these  fruit  trees,  so  truly  symbolic  of 
the  Rhineland  whence  our  forefathers  came.  Try  to  re-create 
from  some  such  glimpse  what  was  the  beauty  of  the  old  town 
that  April,  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  when  on  all 

230 


Founding  of  Germantown   Academy 

sides  the  country  flowed  up  to  the  back  doors  of  the  three 
hundred  houses,  almost  all  on  the  pike,  that  made  the  town. 

And,  after  all,  is  it  so  difficult  to  bring  back  that  past  ?  It 
is  not  so  far  back,  five  generations,  that  is  all.  And  there  are 
those  yet  among  us  whose  memory  carries  them  back  to  when 
Germantown  was  not  so  very  different  from  what  German- 
town  was  when  the  Academy  was  built.  There  are  those  yet 
among  us  to  whom  Germantown  Road  is  "  the  Pike  "  and 
Green  Street  "the  Lane."  It  is  the  privilege  of  Germantown, 
as  of  few  places  in  America,  to  have  the  past  yet  present. 

The  school  was  not  ready  to  be  opened,  as  we  all  know, 
until  almost  the  fall  of  1761,  whenon  August  nth  it  began  its 
long  period  of  great  service  to  our  community,  with  David 
James  Dove  as  master  of  the  English  school  and  Thomas 
Pratt  as  his  usher.  Both  of  these  men  had  been  connected 
with  the  College  and  Academy  of  Philadelphia — Dove  as 
master  of  the  English  school  and  Pratt  as  one  of  the  ushers. 
Hilarius  Becker,  who  had  kept  a  German  school  in  German- 
town,  became  master  of  the  German  school,  into  which  were 
gathered,  by  1762,  seventy-one  children.  In  the  English 
school  at  this  time  were  sixty  pupils,  a  lesser  number 
than  there  were  in  the  German  school,  not  because  the 
town  was  still  dominantly  German,  but  because  Latin  and 
Greek  and  mathematics  as  well  as  the  three  R's  and  "  religious 
instruction  "  were  subjects  there,  and  there  were  fewer, 
naturally,  who  wished  the  higher  education.  The  school  was 
thus  at  the  start  almost  of  the  same  numbers  as  the  Academy 
department  of  the  College  and  Academy  of  Philadelphia,  in 
which,  in  1 759,  there  were  one  hundred  and  thirty  boys  enrolled, 
with  twenty  more  in  the  College  department. 

The  old  prospectuses  of  the  Germantown  Union  School 
tell  us  explicitly  its  purposes  and  what  it  was  intended  to  teach; 
the  minutes  of  the  trustees  reveal  that  the  purposes  were 
attained  and  the  branches  so  advertised  taught.     One  prospec- 

231 


A  History  of  The  Germantow  n  Academy 

tus  states  "  that  the  said  schoolhouse  shall  be  free  to  all  persons 
of  what  denomination  soever  and  wheresoever  residing,  to 
send  their  children  thereto,  without  any  regard  to  name  or 
sect  of  people  ;  provided  they  be  regular  and  subject  to  the 
proper  and  necessary  regulations  of  the  master  and  trustees." 
The  course  of  study  according  to  these  agreements  was  to 
include  "  reading,  writing,  and  learning  of  languages  and  useful 
arts  and  sciences  .  .  .  and  it  is  further  the  intent  and  mean- 
ing hereof  that  if  any  more  teachers  are  necessary  for  teaching 
the  Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew  languages,  or  in  any  part  of 
erudition,  the  trustees  shall  provide  the  same."  There  is  here 
every  evidence  of  toleration  and  enlightenment,  so  much 
enlightenment  and  toleration,  indeed,  as  even  those  conversant 
with  the  history  of  this  old  time  would  hardly  be  prepared  for 
unless  they  had  given  close  study  to  the  spirit  of  our  old  town. 
The  Pennsylvania-German  descendant  of  the  German  of 
this  old  time  is  popularly  regarded  as  almost  an  enemy  of  higher 
education,  and  his  ancestor,  by  those  who  argue  back  from 
our  present-day  Pennsylvania  German,  is  not  generally  recog- 
nized to  be  different  from  the  popular  conception  of  his  descend- 
ant. Those  who  hold  this  opinion  should  read  "  The  Man- 
ners of  the  German  Inhabitants  of  Pennsylvania,"  by  Dr. 
Benjamin  Rush,  who,  in  doing  the  Pennsylvania  Germans  no 
more  than  justice,  wrote,  thirty  years  after  the  founding  of  our 
Academy,  so  as  to  confute  the  conception,  popular  even  in 
that  day,  that  Pennsylvania  Germans  had  not  even  the  three 
R's.  A  more  complete  refutation  is  their  part  in  the  founda- 
tion of  our  school.  It  seems  to  me  a  triumph  of  toleration 
that  at  that  date  men  so  different  in  faith  and  so  set  in  their 
ways  as  Quaker  and  German  Reformed,  as  Mennonite  and 
Lutheran,  as  Tunker  and  Separatist,  should  join  heartily,  as 
men  of  these  faiths  did  join,  in  founding  the  Germantown 
Academy.  But  Germantown  was  indeed  a  tolerant  place 
even  in  those  days.     In  1760  both  the  Lutheran  and  German 

232 


Founding   of   G erman fow n   A cademy 

side,  and  to  the  Friends'  classical  academy  (Penn  Charter) 
and  to  the  College  and  Academy  of  Philadelphia  (The  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania)  in  the  nearby  city.  And  surely  the 
ansvv^er  was  made  from  several  quarters  that  these  schools  were 
all  either  too  far  away  or  not  high  enough  in  grade,  and 
perhaps  someone  ventured  to  say  that,  after  all,  each  one  of 
these  schools  was  sectarian  and  that  what  Germantown  needed 
was  a  real  Union  School,  that  should  be  what  in  those  days 
they  called  an  academy — and  we,  too,  today — or  a  college  pre- 
paratory school  or  high  school. 

The  rapidity  with  which  the  project  matured  is  proof  that 
the  meeting  was,  however,  on  the  whole,  entirely  harmonious. 
And  when  the  men  there  assembled  had  talked  through  mid- 
afternoon  and  the  sunset  hour  and  early  candle-light,  and 
came  to  go  home,  late,  perhaps,  for  supper  because  of  the 
enthusiasm  that  kept  them  there,  they  no  doubt  saw,  in  the 
spectacle  of  the  winter  constellations  that  confronted  them, 
the  augury  that  the  school  was  to  come  quickly  into  being. 
As  they  passed  out  of  the  front  door  of  the  Green  Tree  Tavern 
there  was  Vega  before  them,  brilliant  in  the  west,  and  above 
Vega,  in  the  Milky  Way  that  arched  the  heavens,  the  Northern 
Cross.  They  were  star-gazers,  these  burghers  of  old  German- 
town,  like  their  earlier  brethren  of  the  Kelpius  fraternity  of  the 
Woman  in  the  Wilderness  westward  on  the  Wissahickon,  and 
I  have  no  doubt  their  eyes  eagerly  swept  the  heavens  to  see 
if  the  signs  were  propitious.  Northward  they  saw  the  Great 
Dipper,  right  side  up,  and  southward  Andromeda  led  their  steps 
homeward.  Eastward,  Orion  was  swinging  up  from  the 
horizon,  close  to  the  just  risen  moon,  and  above  Orion,  half- 
way to  the  zenith,  the  Pleiades  and  Hyades.  Yes,  the  stars 
foretold  a  long  life  down  the  years  for  the  Academy  of 
Germantown  ! 

The  stars,  yes,  and  the  character  of  the  people  who  were 
at   that  hour  gathered    around  the  well-laden  tables  in  the 

225 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  Academy 

beautiful  old  houses  of  Germantown,  No  doubt  the  lights 
from  the  windows  were  more  noticed  by  the  returning  citizens 
than  the  glimmer  in  the  moonlight  of  the  mica  in  the  old 
stone  walls  of  the  houses  and  the  fine  lines  of  their  clustered 
outbuildings.  Perhaps  few  of  the  men  thought  of  the  quiet 
beauty  of  the  scene ;  the  staid,  comfortable  homes,  all  of  one 
order,  as  Kalm,  the  Swedish  naturalist,  noticed,  all  in  perfect 
harmony,  all  bitten  out  clearly  in  the  moonlight  against  the 
white  background,  and  above  them  the  stars  in  their  courses ! 
The  augury  of  the  future  was  surer,  I  have  said,  because  of 
the  character  of  the  people  of  Germantown,  than  because  of 
the  stars,  whatever  the  citizens  themselves  thought  of  it,  but 
it  was  surest  from  the  characters  of  the  particular  men  who 
were  working  for  the  school. 

They  had  so  organized  the  project  that  on  December  20th, 
only  two  weeks  after  that  memorable  meeting  at  Mackinett's, 
they  could  advertise  in  Franklin's  Pennsylvania  Gazette  another 
meeting  of  those  interested  in  the  school  on  January  i,  at  two 
o'clock  again,  at  the  house  of  Daniel  Mackinett,  when  every 
one  who  had  contributed  forty  shillings  towards  the  school 
should  have  a  vote  for  overseers  of  the  building,  to  be  elected 
at  that  meeting.  But  two  of  the  seven  men  there  elected  as 
managers  of  the  building  were  of  the  original  group  of  seven 
who  received  subscriptions — Christopher  Meng  and  Baltus 
Reser.  To  this  nucleus  from  the  original  seven  were  added 
Conrad  Weaver,  the  miller  of  Harper's  Dam  ;  Jacob  Coleman, 
who  ran  a  stage-coach  line  from  the  King  of  Prussia  Tavern 
to  the  city;  Peter  Leibert,  lumber  merchant  and  later  partner 
of  Billmaier  as  printer  and  publisher ;  John  Bringhurst,  the 
wagon  builder,  who  was  part  owner  of  the  land  on  which  the 
school  was  built ;  and  Jacob  Engle,  of  the  family  of  tanners, 
another  of  whose  members  built  the  old  Engle  house  just  above 
the  Town  Hall.  Richard  Johnson,  of  the  old  Germantown 
family,  always  associated  with  the  school,  was  the  treasurer  of 

226 


Founding   of   Germantown   Academy 

the  company.  The  thirteen  original  trustees  included  Sauer 
and  Mackinett  and  John  Jones  and  Dr.  Bensell  only,  of  those 
previously  mentioned.  An  important  addition  was  that  of 
Thomas  Rose,  one  of  the  town's  assessors  and  the  first  clerk 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  to  whose  well-phrased  and  clearly- 
written  minutes  we  owe  most  of  our  knowledge  of  the  school 
from  its  inception  on  to  1778,  when  its  discontinuance  was 
forced  by  the  Revolution.  Jacob  Keyser  and  John  Bowman 
and  Benjamin  Engle  were  other  representatives  on  the  Board 
of  old  Germantown  families  that  are  still  in  old  Germantown. 
The  Reverend  George  Alsentz,  pastor  of  the  German  Re- 
formed Church  on  Market  Square,  was  another  trustee. 
Jacob  Neglee  represented  the  lower  part  of  the  town  and 
Thomas  Livezey  represented  the  outlying  districts  on  the 
upper  Wissahickon.  David  Deshler,  the  Philadelphia  merchant 
who  built  the  Morris  house  opposite  Church  Lane,  represented 
another  element  on  the  Board.  If  he  came  to  the  first 
meeting  by  chance  in  the  regalia  of  full  dress  he  assumed  on 
important  occasions,  he  must  have  been  indeed  resplendent. 
He  was  addicted  to  an  "olive-colored  silk  velvet,  with  knee 
breeches  and  silk  stockings,  bright  silver  shoe  buckles,  and  the 
usual  three-cornered  hat."  You  may  wonder  why  I  have 
named  each  of  these  men  interested  in  the  very  beginnings  of 
the  Germantown  Academy.  I  have  mentioned  them  because 
I  would  recall  honor  where  honor  is  due,  I  have  mentioned 
them  because  these  names  make  most  of  the  roll  call  of  what 
was  best  in  the  life  of  Germantown  of  that  day.  And  then 
there  was  Joseph  Galloway,  the  most  noted  man  on  the 
Board  ! 

The  presence  of  Galloway  on  the  Board  leads  to  many 
conjectures.  We  wonder  what  local  affiliations  he  had  with 
Germantown  save  that  he  was  a  close  friend  of  Thomas 
Livezey.  Galloway  was  a  prominent  politician,  the  leader  of 
the  Quaker  opposition  to  the  Proprietary  in  the  Pennsylvania 

227 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

Assembly,  and  as  such  necessarily  in  alliance  with  the  Germans. 
He  became  interested  in  the  school,  I  think,  in  his  role  of 
politician,  though,  perhaps,he  would  rather  have  had  his  interest 
attributed  to  his  concern  with  education  and  general  philan- 
thropy. Whether  he  volunteered  his  support  of  the  school  or 
whether  Sauer  asked  it  is  not,  perhaps,  very  important.  It  is 
enough  that  so  prominent  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Assembly  was  glad  to  be  on  the  Board  of  the  Germantown 
Union  School.  Yet  we  cannot  help  thinking  that  if  Sauer, 
with  his  paper,  helped  Galloway  in  his  poHtical  projects  it  was 
the  least  that  Galloway  could  do  to  help  Sauer  towards  the 
realization  of  the  school  whose  success  the  German  printer 
had  so  much  at  heart.  Sauer  was,  unquestionably,  deeply 
interested  in  education  although,  like  many  Germans,  he  re- 
sented the  Schlatter  scheme  to  give  his  people  an  English 
education.  Did  Galloway  choose  to  become  so  interested 
with  the  purpose  of  influencing  the  political  attitude  of  the 
oncoming  generation  ? 

1  do  not  wish  to  make  too  much  of  the  association  of 
Galloway,  the  politician,  with  the  school.  It  may  well  have 
been  that  Galloway,  the  public-spirited  Pennsylvanian,  had  an 
unselfish  interest  in  the  Germantown  Union  School.  But 
when  you  read  the  names  of  the  Philadelphia  Quaker  mer- 
chants, only  a  few  of  whom  had  any  direct  interest  in  German- 
town  through  residence,  or  any  great  interest  in  education 
per  se,  among  the  contributors  to  the  school  to  the  number  of 
one-third  and  more  of  the  principal  subscribers — the  subscribers 
with  whom  the  trustees  contracted  to  run  the  school — you 
must  wonder  as  to  just  what  was  the  nature  of  their  association 
with  the  project.  James  Pemberton  was,  perhaps,  really 
interested  in  education,  and  John  Baynton  and  Benjamin 
Shoemaker  had  houses  hereabouts;  but  what  of  Dr.  Samuel 
Preston  Moore  and  William  Moore,  and  Thomas  Wharton 
and  Samuel  Wharton,  and  George  Emlen  and  Reese  Meredith, 

228 


Founding   of   G ermantown   Academy 

which  the  things  of  home,  maybe  little,  maybe  big,  stand  to 
the  great  things  of  the  centre — the  best  that  is  known  and 
thought  in  the  world. 

The  higher  provincialism  realizes  that  the  study  of  geog- 
raphy and  geology  and  botany  and  zoology,  these  natural 
sciences,  and  the  study  of  history  among  the  historical  sciences, 
if  not  the  study  of  literature,  begins  at  home.  I  am  certain 
that  I  have  read  Longfellow  with  more  interest  because  his 
brother  Samuel,  then  pastor  of  the  Unitarian  Church  at  the 
corner  above,  used  often  to  walk  home  with  me  and  other 
Germantown  Academy  boys  over  "  twenty  golden  years  ago." 
Nor  do  I  read  Walt  Whitman  with  a  less  interest  because  that 
room  over  there  in  the  old  building  has  been  dignified  by  his 
presence  on  his  visits  to  Germantown  Academy  boys  in  their 
school  hours.  That  Bronson  Alcott  taught  here  in  the  thirties 
brings  me  nearer  to  the  Concord  of  Emerson  and  Hawthorne. 

In  literary  art,  as  in  pedagogy,  the  beginnings  are  at  home. 
The  man  who  will  do  great  work  in  literature  must  write 
about  things  that  are  as  familiar  to  him  as  his  own  dooryard. 
Let  him  learn  his  technique  where  he  may,  the  subject  mate- 
rial he  must  find  at  home.  Because  we  of  Pennsylvania  have 
not  realized  this  is  one  reason  why  we  have  not  succeeded  in 
literature  as  we  have  in  natural  science.  There  is  no  better 
illustration  of  the  higher  provincialism  than  Dickens.  The 
London  slums  made  "Oliver  Twist.''  There  is  no  better 
illustration  than  Thomas  Hardy.  The  Dorsetshire  that  he 
overlooks  from  his  house.  Max  Gate,  gave  him  "  Tess  of  the 
D'Ubervilles."  As  it  is  with  English  literature  in  England  so 
it  is  with  English  literature  in  America.  New  England  corner- 
store  philosophy  raised  to  a  high  power  by  the  earnestness  of 
Calvinism  made  Emerson.  What  smack  of  the  soil  and  what 
poetry  is  there  in  "  Hitch  your  wagon  to  a  star."  The  Puri- 
tan conscience  made  "The  Scarlet  Letter."  Realizing  him- 
self while  watching  the  Atlantic  roll  up  the  Jersey  beach  made 

237 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Ac ademy 

"  Patrolling  Barnegat  "  for  Walt  Whitman.     Let  noble  words 
of  his  sum  up  the  thought  I  would  leave  with  you  : 

"  Will  you  seek  afar  off  ?     You  surely  come  back  at  last 
In  things  best  known  to  you  finding  the  best,  or  as  good  as  the  best ; 
In  folks  nearest  to  you  finding  the  sweetest,  strongest,  lovingest ; 
Happiness,   knowledge  not  in   another  place   but   this   place — not    for 
another  hour  but  this  hour.  " 


238 


ADDRESS  DELIVERED  ON  DECEMBER 
6th  by  CHARLES  F.  JENKINS,  ESQ.,  A 
MANAGER  OF  SWARTHMORE  COL- 
LEGE AND  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  SITE 
AND  RELIC  SOCIETY  OF  GERMAN- 
TOWN,  BEFORE  THE  ALUMNI  OF  THE 
GERMANTOWN  ACADEMY,  ON  THE 
ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTIETH  ANNI- 
VERSARY OF  THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE 
SCHOOL 


Founding   of   Germantown   Academy 

Reformed  Churches  in  Germantown  gave  over  the  use  of  their 
buildings  at  times  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Neil,  the  Episcopal  clergy- 
man at  Whitemarsh,  to  hold  services  in  in  English.  This 
does  not  seem  to  indicate  that  anti-English  feeling  among  the 
Germans,  the  spectre  of  w^hich,  at  times,  so  agitated  Franklin. 
The  Germantovi'n  Union  School  was  indeed  a  union  school,  for 
the  men  who  made  it  were  not  only  of  different  faiths  but  of 
different  bloods.  German,  Dutchman,  Swede  and  Englishman 
were  all  represented  among  the  twenty-two  men  that  may  be 
considered  the  founders  of  the  Academy. 

After  its  first  three  years  the  school  seems  to  have  run 
down.  Perhaps  its  decline  was  partly  because  of  Pelatiah 
Webster  failing  to  measure  up  to  the  stature  of  Dove,  who, 
despite  his  cantankerousness,  had  a  large  following  and  was  a 
good  teacher.  At  any  rate  it  did  decline  from  1763  on  and 
did  not  come  up  again  until  Thomas  Dungan,  a  graduate  of 
the  College  of  Philadelphia  in  the  class  of  1765  and  later  a 
teacher  there,  took  hold  of  the  school  in  1774.  But  the  war 
of  the  Revolution  called  him  away  in  1777  to  become  a  cap- 
tain. From  1778  to  1784  the  school  was  closed  "  on  account 
of  the  distressed  times,"  as  the  old  minute  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  has  it.  Although  there  was  a  meeting  in  the  school 
on  May  i,  1775,  in  response  to  the  call  to  arms  following  the 
news  from  New  England,  I  am  afraid  we  must  own  in  all 
candor  that  as  many  of  those  interested  in  the  school  were 
Tories  as  Patriots.  Dungan  was  by  no  means  the  only  man 
connected  with  the  school  that  took  the  revolutionary  side, 
William  Moore,  of  the  contributors,  for  instance,  being,  late 
in  the  struggle,  President  of  the  Supreme  Council  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  virtually  War  Governor  of  Pennsylvania.  But  over 
against  these  names  are  those  of  Joseph  Galloway,  militant 
Tory,  and  Christopher  Sauer,  whose  non-combatant  views  did 
not  save  his  property  from  confiscation  as  that  of  a  sympathizer 
with  England.     There  were  others,  too,  of  those  interested 

233 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 

in  the  school  that  took  the  attitude  against  change  natural  in 
conservative,  moneyed  men ;  others  who  are  to  be  numbered 
among  the  Loyalists.  Let  us  remember,  too,  that  in  August, 
1777,  the  doors  of  the  school  were  not  opened  to  the  sick  sol- 
diers of  General  Washington's  army  as  it  was  requested  they 
should  be;  and  let  us  remember  that  the  crown  of  England 
still  surmounts  the  weather-vane  on  the  old  schoolhouse,  one 
of  the  few  emblems  of  one-time  British  sovereignty  still  in 
place  as  in  the  old  days  before  there  was  a  United  States  of 
America.  Political  dissensions  in  the  Board  or  the  fact  that 
many  of  its  members  were  on  the  anti-independence  side  before 
the  war,  also,  perhaps,  had  something  to  do  with  the  decline 
of  the  school  after  its  most  auspicious  opening  years. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  chronicle  the  ups  and  downs  of  the 
Germantown  Academy  from  the  Revolution  to  the  present 
day — that  is  the  function  of  the  history  we  are  to  publish  next 
April — but  rather  to  state,  in  what  else  I  have  to  say,  what  have 
been  and  are  the  ideals  of  the  school.  The  Germantown 
Academy,  like  other  schools,  has  had  many  ups  and  downs 
both  in  old  times  and  in  recent  times.  Fortunately,  at  this  our 
time  of  rejoicing  over  the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  the  founding  of  the  old  school  it  is  growing  stronger  day  by 
day.  It  is  today  the  function  of  the  Germantown  Academy, 
as  it  has  been  its  function  always,  to  be  a  school  of  gentlemen, 
taught  by  gentlemen  ;  to  be  a  school  where  scholars  who  know 
something  of  the  world  teach  boys  who  are  destined  to  become 
men  of  affairs  and  of  the  professions.  Do  you  all  know  the 
record  Dr.  Kershaw  read  to  our  Board  of  Trustees  at  our  last 
meeting,  the  record  of  Germantown  Academy  boys  recently 
graduated,  who  last  year  took  high  honors  in  college  ?  At  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  last  June,  a  prize  was  given  to 
Edmund  Newton  Harvey  for  graduating  first  in  his  class,  and 
for  being  head  of  his  class  for  each  of  the  four  years  of  his 
course,  and  at  the  Class  Day  exercises,  three  of  the  orators, 

234 


Founding   of   Germantown   Academy 

Messrs.  Brown,  Barrett  and  Sheble,  were  Germantown  Acad- 
emy boys,  and  Sheble  also  carried  off  second  honors.  At 
Princeton,  S.  Butler  Murray  carried  off  first  honor  in  classics, 
and  also  a  fellowship  in  classics  and  archeology,  and  S.  S. 
Spaeth  was  awarded  a  fellowship  in  English.  At  Haverford, 
Walter  J.  Sandt  carried  off  a  teaching  fellowship.  At  Lehigh 
University,  Arthur  Wells  won  the  competitive  English  prize. 
May  I,  without  impropriety,  add  that  the  boys  that  today 
come  to  us  at  Pennsylvania  make  me  feel  proud  that  I  am  of 
the  fellowship,  that  I  was  once  a  Germantown  Academy  boy. 

There  are  a  few  schools  older  than  ours  in  America. 
There  are  many  schools  older  than  ours  in  England.  Win- 
chester, with  1387  as  its  date  of  foundation;  Eton,  with  1441 
as  its  date  of  foundation  ;  Rugby,  with  1567  as  its  date  of  foun- 
dation ;  and  Harrow,  with  1571  as  its  date  of  foundation,  make 
our  date  of  foundation,  1759,  seem  very  recent  indeed.  Yet 
it  is  old,  very  old,  for  America.  Its  founders,  with  that  confi- 
dence in  institutions  that  belongs  to  a  slow-changing  age,  had 
supreme  faith  that  it  would  grow  old,  that  it  would  live  long 
into  the  future.  These  men  that  gathered  at  the  house  of 
Daniel  Mackinett  on  Thursday,  the  sixth  day  of  December, 
1759,  determined  that  the  "commodious  building"  they  were 
to  erect  should  include  "  two  rooms  on  the  lower  floor  for  the 
use  of  English  and  High  Dutch  or  German  schools,  and  be 
continued  for  that  use,  and  no  other,  forever."  Notice  that 
"forever"  !  It  was  not  so  to  be.  In  the  yellow-fever  times, 
in  1798,  these  rooms  were  occupied  by  the  Bank  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  the  Bank  of  North  America.  That  use  was  for 
some  other  than  a  school,  but  probably  most  old  schools  have 
at  some  time  down  the  ages  been  forced  out  of  their  rooms. 

This  is  not,  however,  to  the  point.  What  I  wished  was 
to  recall  how  calmly  the  founders  of  Germantown  Academy 
looked  forward  into  the  ages  that  were  to  follow.  Can  we 
look  forward  as  calmly  ?     Can  we  see  Germantown  Academy 

235 


A  History  of  The    Germantown  Academy 

as  old  as  Winchester  ?  Five  hundred  years  old,  and  more? 
Will  Germantown  Academy  last  ?  Will  any  school  in  America 
last  so  long  in  this  so  rapidly  changing  modern  time?  Be  that 
as  it  may,  the  age  of  the  Germantown  Academy  at  this  present 
day  is  a  great  distinction  and  advantage,  a  distinction  and 
advantage  all  the  greater  that  the  world  is  now  so  rapidly 
changing.  An  old  school  with  such  a  history  as  is  ours,  an 
old  school  with  so  long-continued  ideals  as  ours,  is  rare  in  our 
American  life.  A  boy  in  such  a  school,  in  a  building  where 
his  forerunners  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  have  sat, 
has  a  chance  to  visualize  and  re-create  the  old  life  of  our  town 
and,  through  that,  of  our  country,  such  as  falls  to  the  lot  of 
but  few.  Do  we  of  Germantown  realize  this  in  all  that  it 
means  ?  I  think  those  of  us  who  are  in  the  old  school  do, 
else  they  had  not  so  quickly  subscribed  to  the  tablet.  I  think 
the  members  of  the  Site  and  Relic  Society  do,  too,  else  they 
would  not  have  so  generously  aided  the  boys  of  the  school ; 
but  we  of  the  alumni  and  trustees  would  wish  all  of  our  citi- 
zens to  realize  that  here  is  a  school  that  offers  unwonted 
opportunities  to  its  students  to  behold  the  pageant  of  the  past, 
to  preserve  the  traditions  of  the  past.  I  am  not  of  those  who 
hold  "my  country  right  or  wrong  but  still  my  country."  I 
believe  rather  in  "my  country  and  its  uplift.''  This  I  think 
the  cry  of  a  higher  patriotism. 

Nor  am  I  of  those  who  hold  what  I  have  is  better  than 
what  my  neighbor  has  simply  because  it  is  mine.  That  is  the 
lower  provincialism.  But  the  higher  provincialism  I  hold  to 
stoutly.  That  higher  provincialism,  as  I  see  it,  considers  with 
loving  kindliness  the  things  of  home,  the  home  folks,  the  home 
town,  its  institutions  and  habits  and  customs,  considers  them 
with  loving  kindliness  and  ponders  over  them  until  their  full 
significance  is  realized.  The  man  who  holds  to  the  higher 
provincialism  must  know  the  greatest  things  that  are  known 
and   thought   in  the  world,  and  must   realize  the   relation   in 

236 


Public   Education 

the  said  Master  during  his  continuance  as  Master  in  the  said 
English  School,  shall  conduct  his  said  School  conformable  to 
good  order  and  becoming  decency,  keep  a  good  and  impartial 
discipline  amongst  his  scholars,  endeavor  to  keep  up  a  good 
harmony  between  him  and  the  Dutch  Master  there  and  be- 
tween the  Dutch  and  English  Scholars,  be  industrious  in  pro- 
moting knowledge,  and  show  himself  a  good  example  of  piety 
and  decorum  to  those  committed  to  his  care. 

Agreed  to  the  above  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  ,  as 

well  as  by  the  said  John  Downey  on  his  part  on  the  day  and 
year  first  above  written. 

Certified  by  order  of  the  Board  by  me 

Benjamin  Lehman,  Clerk. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  during  this  anniversary  year  many  addi- 
tional important  events  connected  with  the  founding  of  this 
institution  and  its  early  history  may  be  brought  to  the  atten- 
tion of  its  earnest  and  progressive  body  of  graduates,  to  the  end 
that  they  may  find  in  such  a  study  of  the  school  that  gave 
them  training,  additional  inspiration  and  increased  reason  for 
their  love  and  loyalty  to  the  Germantown  Academy. 


257 


List  of  Trustees 


of 


The  Public  School  of  Germantown 

together  with  dates  of  election  and  retirement 


Adamson,  William 
Adamson,  Charles  B. 
Allen,  Benjamin 
Alsentz,  George 
Armatt,  Thomas 
Ash,  M.  W. 
Ashmead,  Albert 
Ashmead,  Charles  F. 
Ashmead,  Jacob 
Ashmead,  James 
Ashmead,  John 
Ashmead,  Samuel 

Ashmead, Theodore,  M.  D. 
Ashmead,  William 


Ashmead,  William,  M.D. 


May  3,  1875 
Feb.  13,  1905 
Feb.  10,  1873 
Jan.  I,  1760 
May  6,  1805 
May  6,  1839 
May,  1840 
May  4,  1846 
May  5,  1806 
Oct.  27,  1806 
May  5,  1800 
May  4,  1775 
Sept.  15,  1784 
May  4,  1829 
May  4,   177s 
May  7,  1778 
Sept.  5,  1784 
Nov.  13,  1854 


June  16,  1879 
Present  Member 
May  3,  1875 
May  7,  1767 
June  24,  1805 
Nov.  21,  1839 
June  26,  1874 
May  12,   1867 
May  4,  1807 
May  4,  1846 
May  6,  1839 
May  2,  1776 

1794 
1854 

May  2,  1776 
May,  1779 
May  7,  1810 
Feb.  2,  1888 


D  4  years 

2  years 
7  years 


D  34  years 
21  years 

R  I  year 
40  years 
39  years 

D  II  years 
D  25  years 


28  years 
D  34  years 


Baker,  Rev. 

Bailey,  Richard 

or  Baley 

Bayard,  Chas.  M. 
Bayard,  Charles  P. 
Benezet,  Philip 
Bensill,  Dr.  Charles, 

or  Bensell 


Bensill,  Dr.  George 


May  I,  1826 
May  2,  1808 

May  2,  1870 
May  2,  1852 
May  I,  1777 
Sr.  Jan.  i,  1760 
May  4,  1769 
May  4,  1789 
May  I,  1797 
May  6,  1799 
June  24,  1805 


May  5,  1828 
May  I,  1826 

May  2,  1870 
May,  1779 
Jan.  I,  1763 
May  1,  1777 

1795 

May  7,  1798 
May  6,  1805 
1828 


2  years 
18  years 

18  years 
2  years 


D  16  years 
R 

D  30  years 


259 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 


Betton,  Dr.  Samuel 

Bilmeyer,  Daniel 
Blakely,  John 
Blight,  George 
Bockius,  Charles 
Bockius,  F.  William 
Bockius,  Godfrey 

Bockius,  John 


Bockius,  Morris  R. 
Bodine,  Samuel  T. 
Bonsall,  Charles 
Bowen,  John 
Bowman,  David 
Bowman,  John 


Bringhurst,  George 

Bringhurst,  George,  Jr. 
Bringhurst,  John 


Bringhurst,  Robert 
Bringhurst,  Samuel 
Bringhurst,  Thomas 
Brockie,  William 
Bromley,  Joseph  H. 
Brown,  Amos  P. 
Bruner,  Henry 

Bullock,  Joseph 
Butler,  Edgar  H. 
Butcher,  Thomas  B. 
Burgin,  George  H. ,  M.D. 

Carnaghan,  J.  L. 
Carpenter,  Conrad 


May  7,  1804 
May  4,  1819 
May  9,  1837 
May  6,  1907 
May  I,  1826 
May  6,  1872 
May  9,  1837 
May  4,  1775 
May  I,  1777 
May  5,  1768 
May  2,  1776 
May  7,  1778 
May  4,  1888 
May  12,  1890 
Oct.  12,  1836 
May  4,  1829 
May  5,  1853 
Jan.  I,  1760 
Jan.  I,  1762 
May  4,  1769 
May  4,  1775 
May  2,  1776 
Sept.  15,  1784 
May  4,  179s 
May  4,  1769 
May  I,  1777 
Sept.  15,  1784 
May  7,  1810 
Sept.  15,  1784 
May  4,  1812 
Nov.  22,  1875 
Feb.  13,  1905 
May,  1909 
May  3,  1802 
May  4,  1809 
May  4,  1795 
May  10,  1886 
May  5,  1851 
May  10,   1869 

May  2,  1870 
May  3,  1802 
June  24,  1805 

260 


May  7,  1810 

Feb.  14,  1848 

May,  1840 

Present  Member 

May  4,  1835 

May  3,  1875 

May  2,  1870 

May  2,  1776 

May  7,  1778 

May  7,  1772 

May  I,  1777 

1779 

Nov.  I,  1904 

Sept.  12,  1896 

Aug.  4,  1842 

May  6,  1833 

May  4,  1868 

Aug.  5,  1760 

Jan.  I,  1763 

May  6,  1773 

May  2,  1776 

May  7,  1779 

May  I,  1797 
May  I,  1797 

May  3,  1770 
May,  1779 
May  4,  1795 
May  9,  1822 
May  I,  1815 
May  6,  1816 
Sept.  12,  1890 
May  8,  1905 
Present  Member 
June  24,  1805 
1829 

May  10,  1810 
May  14,  1908 
May  10,  1869 
Jan.  2,  1873 

May  5,  1873 
May  6,  1805 
1824 


R  35  years 
3  years 

9  years 

3  years 

33  years 

2  years 


6  years 

R  16  years 

R    6  years 

6  years 

4  years 

15  years 


7  years 

16  years 
2  years 


D  14  years 

12  years 

31  years 

4  years 

D  15  years 

R 


D  23  years 

15  years 

22  years 

18  years 

D  4  years 

3  years 
D  22  years 


List   of   Trustees 


Chandler,  Charles 
Channon,  Joseph 

Channon,  John  C. 
Chew,  Benjamin,  Jr. 

Clark,  E.  W. 
Clark,  Clarence  M. 
Class,  Simeon 
Coleman,  Jacob 

Cook,  John 

Coulter,  John 
Coulter,  Paschall  H. 
Crenshaw,  Edward  A. 
Croat,  William 

Davies,  Benjamin 
Dedier,  John 
Deshler,  David 

Dewees,  William 
Dickinson,  John 
Downs,  Dr.  Norton 
Dunton,  Dr.  Wm.  R. 
Duval,  James  S. 
Duy,  Jacob 

Emhardt,  Frederick 
Engle,  Benjamin 
Engle,  Charles  B. 
Engle,  Jacob 
Engle,  Paul,  Jr. 


Engle,  Richard 

Farnum,  Edw.  S.  W. 
Ferree,  Joseph 
Firth,  Frank  J. 


May  12 

,  1879 

1882 

D 

May  5, 

1817 

May  I,  1820 

June  9, 

1842 

May  5,  1851 

12  years 

May  7, 

1849 

Nov.  8,  1875 

R  26  years 

May  6, 

1799 

May  3,  1802 

May  2, 

1803 

April  30,  1844 

D  44  years 

May  2, 

1870 

Aug.,  1875 

R  5  years 

May  4, 

1908 

Present  Member 

May  3, 

1790 

May  I,  1797 

7  years 

May  6, 

1773 

May  5,  1774 

May  4, 

1775 

May  7,  1776 

4  years 

May  3, 

1790 

May  3,  1802 

May  6, 

1805 

June  24,  1805 

12  years 

May  4, 

183s 

May  7,  1850 

15  years 

May  6, 

1848 

May  10,  1869 

21  years 

May  10 

1,  1869 

Aug.  28,  1873 

R  4  years 

May  6, 

1848 

May  2,  1852 

4  years 

May  6, 

1811 

Nov.  7,  1817 

6  years 

May  I, 

1777 

May  7,  1778 

I  year 

Jan.  I, 

1760 

March  3,  1764 

Sept.  11 

;,  1784 

May  7,  1792 

12  years 

Jan.  I, 

1761 

Jan.  I,  1762 

I  year 

May  9, 

1837 

May,  1840 

3  years 

Sept.  i< 

?,  1898 

May  4,  1908 

10  years 

May  I, 

1871 

May,  1871 

R 

March 

22,  1824 

May  7,  1832 

8  years 

May  5, 

1800 

May  2,  1803 

3  years 

May  5, 

1851 

May  7,  1866 

15  years 

Jan.  I, 

1760 

Jan.  I,  1763 

3  years 

May  7, 

i860 

May  10,  1869 

9  years 

Jan.  I, 

1760 

One  of  the  first  Managers 

May  3, 

1764 

May  2,  1765 

May  I, 

1766 

May  4,  1769 

May  6, 

1773 

May  5,  1774 

Sept.  I 

5.  1784 

May  5,  1789 

10  years 

May  I, 

1809 

May  I,  18 1 5 

6  years 

Feb.  8, 

,  1904 

May  6,  1907 

3  years 

Sept.  I 

5.  1784 

May  I,  1797 

13  years 

Feb.  9, 

1880 

Present  Member 

261 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 


Fisher,  Coleman 

Nov.  21, 

1839 

May  8, 

1843 

4  years 

Fisher,  Ellicott  W. 

Feb.  13; 

.  1905 

May  6, 

1907 

2  years 

Fisher,  Thomas  R. 

May  6, 

1848 

May  5, 

1862 

14  years 

Forrest,  Col.  Thomas 

May  5, 

1794 

1806 

R 

12  years 

Fox,  Justus 

May  7, 

1772 

May  2, 

1776 

or  Jnstice 

May  7, 

1778 

May,  I 

779 

Sept.  15 

.  1794 

1805 

D 

16  years 

Franks,  Isaac 

May  5, 

1794 

May  7, 

1804 

10  years 

Fraelich,  Dr.  Jacob 

Sept.  15 

,  1784 

1794 

D 

10  years 

or  Fraley 

Fraley,  Henry 

May  2, 

1796 

May  7, 

1798 

R 

2  years 

Freas,  Philip  R. 

Nov.  2, 

1842 

Feb.  8, 

1847 

5  years 

Fromberger,  John 

May  I, 

1797 

1806 

D 

9  years 

Fry,  John 

Sept.  15 

,  1784 

May  7, 

1810 

26  years 

Fry,  John,  Jr. 

May  6, 

1811 

1822 

D 

II  years 

Fry,  Jacob 

May  2, 

1802 

May  5, 

1817 

15  years 

Fry,  William  K. 

Feb.  8, 

1847 

May  I, 

1871 

24  years 

Galloway,  Joseph 

Jan.  I, 

1760 

May  5, 

1769 

9  years 

Gamble,  John  K. 

Feb.  II 

,  1856 

May  7, 

i860 

4  years 

Gates,  Jabez 

May  7, 

i860 

Nov.  13 

1,  1896 

D 

36  years 

Gates,  Jay 

Nov.  9, 

1896 

Present  Member 

Gilbert,  Israel 

May,  il 

340 

May  8, 

1843 

3  years 

Gilliams,  Jacob 

May  5, 

1820 

May  4, 

1829 

9  years 

Gillingham,  Harrold  E. 

May  II 

,  1896 

May  2, 

1910 

14  years 

Gowen,  James 

May  5, 

1836 

May  6, 

1839 

3  years 

Green,  John 

May  II 

,  1834 

May  7, 

1850 

16  years 

Green,  William 

May  6, 

1848 

May  2, 

1881 

R 

33  years 

Hacker,  William 

Feb.  13 

;,  1882 

March 

II,  1898 

D 

16  years 

Hager,  Walter  F. 

Feb.  9, 

1891 

May  7, 

1894 

3  years 

Haines,  Casper  W. 

May  6, 

1799 

1802 

3  years 

Haines,  John  S. 

May  5, 

1879 

May,  I 

879 

R 

Haines,  Reuben 

May  I, 

1820 

1831 

D 

II  years 

Hammersley,  G.  Wharton 

May  I, 

1871 

Aug. , 

1871 

R 

Hance,  Edward  H. 

Nov.  10,  1873 

May  3, 

,  1875 

2  years 

Hansberry,  Joseph 

May  9, 

1837 

May  7, 

1884 

D 

47  years 

Harman,  Rev.  Frederick 

May  7, 

1798 

May  6, 

1799 

I    year 

Harmer,  Samuel  Y. 

May  8, 

1843 

May  2, 

1852 

9  years 

Harvey,  Samuel 

May  3, 

1813 

May  6, 

1848 

37  years 

Haslet,  James 

Sept.  15,  1784 

1790 

D 

6  years 

262 


List   of    Trustees 


Hay,  Charles 

Jan.  I, 

1761 

May  3,  1764 

May  2, 

1776 

May  I,  1777 

May  7, 

1778 

May,  1779 

5  years 

Helfenstein,  Rev.  Albert 

Sept.  I 

S.  1784 

May  7,  1790 

6  years 

Hanckie,  Dr.  Andrew  C. 

May  4, 

1819 

1822 

D 

3  years 

Hazard,  Spencer  P. 

May  2, 

1910 

Present  Member 

Heyl,  Francis 

Feb.  II 

,  1856 

May  7,  i860 

4  years 

Henry,  John  S. 

May  II 

-  1834 

1836 

D 

2  years 

Henry,  T.  Charlton 

Nov.    22 

:,  1875 

1879 

R 

4  years 

Hergesheimer,  George 

June  9, 

1842 

Nov.  26,  1855 

13  years 

Hill,  Henry 

Sept.  i; 

5.  1784 

May  6,  1799 

15  years 

Howell,  E.  I.  H. 

1897 

Present  Member 

James,  Abel 

May  3, 

1764 

May  4,   1769 

5  years 

Johnson,  John 

May  7, 

1778 

1779 

I    year 

Johnson,  John,  Jr. 

May  6, 

1799 

Dec.  22,  1808 

R 

9  years 

Resigned  on  account  of  trustees  having 

made  appi 

ication  to  the  State  Leg! 

stature 

for  a  grant  of  lottery. 

Johnson,  Justus 

May  7, 

1810 

May  4,  1819 

May  5, 

1828 

May  7,  1837 

18  years 

Johnson,  Norton 

May  10 

i,    1869 

Jan.  9,  1882 

D 

13  years 

Johnson,  Richard 

Jan.  I, 

1760 

Jan.  I,  1764 

4  years 

Johnson,  Samuel 

May  9, 

1837 

May,  1840 

3  years 

Johnson,  Dr.  William  N. 

May  6, 

1833 

May  6,  1848 

15  years 

Johnson,  Dr.  William  N. 

May  12 

,    1884 

Present  Member 

Jones,  John 

Jan.  I, 

1760 

May  6,  1773 

May  4, 

1775 

May  2,  1776 

14  years 

Jones,  Josiah  F. 

May  5, 

1862 

May  6,  1907 

45  years 

Keyser,  Abraham 

May  9, 

1837 

May  21,  1839 

2  years 

Keyser,  Jacob 

Jan.  I, 

1760 

Jan.  I,  1761 

May  4, 

1769 

May  3,  1770 

2  years 

Keyser,  Naaman 

May  8, 

1843 

Feb.  12,  1844 

May  6, 

1848 

May  5,  1851 

4  years 

Koch,  John 

May  7, 

1767 

May  4,  1775 

May  2, 

1776 

May  I,  1777 

9  years 

Langstroth,  J.  F. 

May  2, 

1870 

May  I,  1876 

6  years 

Lashett,  Christian 

May  4, 

1769 

May  4,  1775 

01  Lawshet,  or  Lawshed, 
or  Lashed 

May  I, 

1777 

May,  1779 

May  7, 

1787 

May  7,  1798 

R 

19  years 

Lehman,  Benjamin 

May  7, 

1798 

May  3,  1802 

June  24 

,  1805 

May  3,  1 813 

Nov.  7, 

1816 

May  6,  1839 

35  years 

263 


A  History  of  The  G ermantown  Academy 


Lehman,  Benjamin,  Jr. 

Lehman,  Christian 

Lewis,  Jacob 

Lewis,  William  Draper 

Libert,  Peter 

Lippincott,  Horace  Mather 

Livezey,  Thomas 


Logan,  A.  Sydney 
Logan,  George 
Lorain,  John 
Luckens,  Daniel 

or  Lukens 

Mackinett,  Daniel 
Macknet,  Charles 
Magoffin,  John 
Marriott,  William 
Mason,  James  Wier 
Matthews,  James 
Mclntyre,  Archibald 
Mechlin,  Samuel 
Mechlin,  Samuel,  Jr. 
Mehl,  Frederick 


Meng,  Christopher 


Meng,  Melcher 


Meng,  Wolue 

or  Wolore 
Meredith,  William 
Miller,  Sebastian 

Miller,  Wickard 
Millner,  Edward 

or  Milnor 

Miskey,  Anthony 
Morgan,  Charles  E.,  Jr. 
Morgan,  Chas.  E.,  3rd 


Nov.  3, 

1842 

May  4,  1868 

26  years 

May  3, 

1764 

May  2,  1771 

7  years 

May  3, 

1764 

May  4,  1769 

5  years 

May  7, 

1894 

May  14,  1900 

6  years 

May  7, 

1787 

May  6,  1799 

12  years 

May  6, 

1907 

Present  Member 

Jan.  I, 

1760 

Jan.  I,  1761 

Jan.  I, 

1762 

May  5,  1768 

May  5, 

1774 

May  I,  1777 

10  years 

May  9, 

1822 

May  5,  1828 

6  years 

May  7, 

1787 

May  7,  1798 

R  II  years 

May  5, 

1806 

1806 

R 

May  4, 

1769 

May  6,  1773 

May  5, 

1774 

May  I,  1777 

7  years 

Jan.  I, 

1760 

Jan.  I,  1761 

I  year 

May  7, 

1798 

May  5,  1806 

8  years 

May  9, 

1822 

May  2,  1825 

3  years 

May  7, 

1850 

Dec.  6,  1850 

R 

May  I, 

1876 

May  5,  1879 

3  years 

May  7, 

1804 

May  7,  1810 

6  years 

May  3, 

1858 

Nov.,  1869 

R  II  years 

Sept.  I 

5.  1784 

May  2,  1803 

19  years 

May  2, 

1808 

May  6,  1811 

3  years 

May  2, 

1776 

May  I,  1778 

May  7, 

1778 

May,  1779  ? 

2  years 

Jan.  I, 

1750 

Manager 

May  3, 

1764 

May  4,  1769 

May  7, 

1771 

May  5,  1775 

10  years 

May  4, 

1769 

May  4,  1775 

May  2, 

1776 

May  I,  1777 

May  2, 

1792 

May  7,  1810 

25  years 

May  2, 

,  1771 

May  7,  1772 

I  year 

May  6, 

1816 

May  4,  1819 

3  years 

May  6, 

.  1773 

May  4,  177s 

May  I, 

1777 

May  7,  1778 

3  years 

May  I, 

1777 

May  2,  1778 

I  year 

May  3, 

1  1764 

May  4,  1769 

May  2, 

1771 

May  7,  1772 

6  years 

May  2, 

1870 

March  26,  1877 

D  7  years 

Feb.  I- 

5,  1888 

Nov.  14,  1904 

R  16  years 

May,  : 

[909 

Present  Membei 

264 


L 

ist   of    Trus 

tees 

Morris,  Samuel  B. 

May  5,  1836 

Oct.  12,  1836 

Morris,  William  E. 

Dec.  6,  1850 

May  2,  1853 

2 

yi  years 

Neglee,  Jacob 

Jan.  I,  1760 

May  2,  1765 

5  years 

Neill,  Dr.  William 

May  6,  1839 

June  9,  1842 

3  years 

Neisser,  Augustine 

May  4,  1775 

May  7,  1778 

3  years 

Newhall,  Robert  S. 

Nov.  13,  1905 

Feb.  I,  1908 

R 

Nutz,  John 

May  5,  1806 

May  2,  1808 

2  years 

Osier,  Harman 

May  5,  1851 

Feb.  I,  1853 

2  years 

Otto,  Charles  W. 

Feb.  13,  1882 

Nov.  22,  1901 

D 

19  years 

Pancoast,  Henry  S. 

Feb.  13,  1905 

Nov.  13,  1905 

Pancoast,  Charles 

May  10,  1869 

May  6,  1872 

3  years 

Pancoast,  Charles  E. 

May  14,  1900 

Nov.  4,  1904 

R 

4  years 

Patterson,  C.  Stuart 

May  2,  1881 

April  I,  1889 

8  years 

Physick,  Philip  Syng 

May  8,  1843 

May  6,  1848 

5  years 

Pemberton,  Israel 

May  6,  1773 

May,  1779  ? 

6  years 

Perot,  Joseph  Sanson 

May  14,  1877 

April  16,  1906 

D 

29  years 

Perot,  John 

May,  1906 

Feb.  II,  1907 

R 

Perot,  Robeson  Lea 

May  6,  1907 

Present  Member 

(Secretary) 

Potter,  Richard 

May  I,  1797 

May  5,  1800 

3  years 

Potter,  Sheldon 

Feb.  13,  1888 

Present  Member 

Potter,  William  A. 

May  2,  1852 

May  3,  1858 

6  years 

Potter  William  Frank 

May  7,  1888 

Present  Member 

Potts,  Isaac 

May  I,  1854 

May  8,  1854 

R 

Price,  John 

May  4,  1807 

May  I,  1809 

2  years 

Provest,  Charles 

May  14,  1844 

1850 

D 

6  years 

Provost,  Alexander 

May  3,  1813 

May  4,  1822 

May,  1840 

May  8,  1843 

12  years 

Rawle,  Francis 

Aug.  II,  1879 

Nov.  14,  1887 

R 

8  years 

Reser,  Baltus 

Jan.  I,  1760 

One  oF  the  first  Managers 

Riter,  George 

Jan.  3,  1802 

May  2,  1802 

Riter,  Michael 

May  3,  1802 
May  I,  1809 

May  6,  1805 
May  4,  1 8 12 

Nov.  7,  1816 

May  5,  18 17 

7  years 

Rittenhouse,  Abraham 

Sept.  15,  1784 

May  7,  1804 

20  years 

Rittenhouse,  Nicholas 

Jan.  I,  1763 

May  4,  177s 

May  2,  1776 

May  I,  1777 

13  years 

Rittenhouse,  Nicholas 

May  5,  18 17 

May  9,  1837 

20  years 

Roberts,  Owen  J. 

May  4,  1908 

Present  Member 

Robertson,  Peter 

May  I,  1797 

May  7,  1798 

r    year 

265 


A  History  of  The    G ermantown  Academy 


Robeson,  Edward 
Robeson,  Peter 

Rodney,  John 

Rogers,  William  D. 
Rohrer,  Benjamin,  M.D. 
Rose,  Thomas 
Royal,  Edward 
Royal,  Edward  L. 
Runlcle,  Dr.  William 

Rush,  Jacob 

Schaeffer,  Rev.  Charles  W., 

D.D.,  LL.D. 
Schaeffer,  Rev.  William 


Schwartz,  Charles  W. 
Schwartz,  Charles  W., 
Seibert,  Peter 
Smith,  Rev.  Frederick 
Smith,  John 

Smith,  Peter 

Smyth,  Calvin  M. 

Snyder,  Christian 
or  Schneider 

Sower,  Christopher 


Spencer,  Charles 
Spencer,  William  G. 
Starr,  Col.  James 
Stokes,  Charles  H. 
Stokes,  Charles  M. 
Stokes,  James 
Stokes,  Wyndham  H. 


Jr. 


May  2, 

1765 

May  7,  1767 

2  years 

May  2, 

1803 

May  I,  1809 

May  7, 

1810 

May  3,  1830 

R 

26  years 

May  5, 

1828 

May  9,  1837 

May  14 

1844 

May  6,  1848 

13  years 

Nov.  22 

,  1875 

Feb.,  1877 

R 

2  years 

Aug.  14,  1871 

June  15,  1875 

D 

4  years 

Jan.  I, 

1760 

May  4,  1775 

15  years 

Dec.  6, 

1850 

1866 

D 

16  years 

Nov.  12 

,  1866 

May  2,  1870 

4  years 

May  5, 

1805 

June  14,  1805 

R 

May  2, 

1808 

May  6,  181 1 

3  years 

Sept.   15 

,  1784 

May  6,  1787 

3  years 

May  7, 

1850 

March  15,  1896 

D 

46  years 

May  7, 

1798 

May  3,  1802 

May  6, 

1805 

June  24,  1805 

4  years 

Feb.  13 

1882 

May  2,  1910 

28  years 

May  2, 

1910 

Present  Member 

Jan.  I, 

1760 

One  of  the  first  Managers 

Sept.  15 

,  1784 

May  5,  1787 

3  years 

May  4, 

1812 

May  I,  181 5 

Nov.  7, 

1816 

June  9,  1842 

29  years 

May  4, 

1795 

May  2,  1796 

I    year 

May  4, 

1908 

Present  Member 

May  3, 

1770 

May  4,  1775 

May  I, 

1777 

May  7,  1778 

Sept.  15 

,  1784 

May  5,  1800 

12  years 

Jan.  I, 

1760 

May  3,  1764 

May  4, 

1769 

May  2,  1771 

May  7, 

1772 

May  4,  1775 

May  I, 

1777 

May  7,  1778 

10  years 

May  3, 

1875 

1887 

D 

12  years 

May  4, 

1868 

Feb.   13,  1888 

R 

20  years 

May  7, 

1877 

Sept.  I,  1881 

D 

4  years 

May  6, 

1867 

May  10,  1869 

2  years 

May  6, 

1839 

1850 

D 

II  years 

June  24 

,  1805 

May  2,  1808 

3  years 

May  7, 

1832 

May  4,  183s 

May  9, 

1837 

May  2,  1870 

36  years 

266 


List 


Strong,  Jedidiah 
Stuckert,  John 
Thorpe,  Isaacher 
Townsend,  Noah 

Ulmer,  William  A. 

Vanderen,  John 

or  Vandering 


Wagner,  John 
Walker,  William 

Warder,  George  A. 
Warder,  George  B. 
Watmough,  James 
Watmough,  John  G. 
Watson,  John  F. 
Weaver,  Conrad 
Weiss,  Charles 
Welsh,  Sam. 
Welsh,  Samuel,  3rd 
Weygandt,  Cornelius 
Wharton,  Saml. 
Wharton,  Thomas 
Wheeler,  Charles  J. 
Wheeler,  Enoch 
Williams,  Churchill 
Wister,  Alex.  W. 
Wister,  Chas.  J. 
Wister,  Chas.  J. 
Wister,   Lewis  Wynne 
Wister,  William 

Wunder,  Jacob  S. 
Yorke,  Thomas 


t    of    Trustees 

May  9,  1822 

May  9,  1837 

15  years 

May  2,  1803 

May  5,  1 806 

3  years 

May  4,  1835 

May  9,  1837 

2  years 

Sept.  15,  1784 

May  I,  1797 

13  years 

May  7,  1877 

Dec.  26,  1889 

D 

12  years 

Jan.  I,  1763 

May  3,  1764 

May  2,  1765 

May  5,  1768 

May  3,  1770 

May  6,  1773 

May  5,  1774 

May  1779 

Sept.  15,  1784 

May  5,  1787 

15  years 

May  5,  1873 

Feb.,  1877 

R 

4  years 

May  6,  1848 

March  30,  1849 

R 

Feb.  14,  1853 

1856 

D 

4  years 

May  3,  1875 

1881 

D 

6  years 

May,  1902 

Present  Member 

May  7,  18 10 

1812 

D 

2  years 

May  3,  1830 

May  II,  1834 

4  years 

Nov.  7,  1816 

Nov.  9,  183s 

R 

17  years 

Jan.  I,  1760 

Manager 

May  7,  1866 

Feb.  8,  1886 

D 

20  years 

Nov.  13,  1882 

May  18,  1893 

D 

II  years 

Aug.  14,  1893 

Nov.  9,  1903 

R 

10  years 

Aug.  12,  1907 

Present  Member 

Jan.  I,   1763 

May  3,  1764 

I    year 

Jan.  I,  1761 

May  I,  1766 

5  years 

Nov.  18,  1822 

May  II,  1834 

12  years 

May  7,  1810 

May  3,  1813 

3  years 

May  2,  1910 

Present  Member 

Aug.  10,  1874 

Present  Member 

(Pi 

esident) 

May  7,  1810 

Aug.  4,  1842 

R 

32  years 

May  4,  1868 

1910 

D 

42  years 

Aug.  12,   1889 

May  4,  1908 

R 

19  years 

May  2,  1825 

May  9,  1837 

Nov.  21,  1839 

May  6,  1848 

21  years 

May  7,   1832 

May  9,  1837 

5  years 

Jan.  I,  1761 

Jan.  I,  1762 

I    year 

267 


Teachers 


Hilarius  Becker 
David  James  Dove 
Thomas  Pratt 
Joshua  Acton 
Jonathan  Dickinson 
John  Woods 
Pelatiah  Webster 
Abel  Evans 
Margaret  Thomas 
John  Downey 
Thomas  Dungan 
Mary  Clinch 
George  Murray 
John  Augustus  Edert 
Justus  Shaeffer 
Jacob  Meikie 
Frederick  Herman 
J.  M.  Ray 
James  Chambers 
Godfrey  Dorfeinle 
Ferdinand  Kreamer 
John  Daniel  Deckhand 
Samuel  Chandler 
A.  V.  Trecht 
Samuel  Chandler 
William  Lawson 
Nathaniel  Major 
John  Conrad 
Jedediah  Strong 
J.  L.  N.  Neif 
Wm.  Woodman 
Geo.  I.  Howell 
Thompson 
Benjamin  Carpenter 
Enion  Williams 
Stephen  H.  Long 


John  Nutz 

John  Rose 

Stephen  H.  Long 

Enion  Williams 

Silas  George 

M.  Hatten 

Stephen  Cameron 

John  Ormroyd 

Daniel  Davies 

Miss  Riley 

Rev.  John  R.  Goodman 

John  M.  Brewer 

Mrs.  Ann  Parry 

Walter  R.  Johnson 

Dr.  Joseph  Bullock 

Seth  Smith 

J.  S.  Cooper 

Chambers 

George  P.  Gidding 

Arthur  Thompson 

E.  H.  Merrill 

William  Russel 

Amos  Bronson  Alcott 

Moses  Soule 

Theodore  Russel  Jenks 

M.  Cole 

Levi  T.  Claflin 

Green 

Dr.  John  Whitehead 

Rev.  Christian  F.  Cruse 

George  B.  Strong 

Eugene  Smith 

Henry  K.  Green 

William  Green 

William  M.  Collom 

Alexander  C.  Reynolds 


269 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 


William  M.  Collom 

Alfred  L.  Jenks 

Alfred  J.  Perkins 

William  M.  Collom 

Lewis  S.  Hough 

W.  H.  Seavey 

P.  V.  Veeder 

J.   H.  Withington 

Cyrus  V.  Mays 

Rev.  William  Travis 

William  Kershaw,  M.A.,Ph.D. 

Mrs.  William  Kershaw 

George  H.  Deacon 

Caleb  Allen,  B.A. 

Miss  E.  P.  Watson 

Miss  A.  E.  Foster 

Miss  I.  M.  Staples 

Miss  J.  B.  Reed 

Frank  H.  Fretz 

S.  K.  Murdock,  M.A. 

M.  C.  Kimber,  M.A. 

O.  G.  J.  Schadt,  M.A. 

M.  H.  Liddel,  M.A. 

Miss  Anna  Bledsoe 

A.  B.  Merrill,  M.A. 

Miss  Kate  Sharps 

Coates  Caldwell,  M.A. 

Dr.  F.  B.  Sharp,  Ph.D. 

Miss  Martha  B.  Hacker 

Mrs.  Nora  R.  Baldwin 

Rev.  W.  Greenwood,  M.A. 

H.  I.  Pancoast,  M.A. 

Miss  I.  M.  Wilbur 

Mrs.  C.  S.  Broom 

Miss  Mary  Bentley 

Miss  A.  C.  Longstreth 

Chas.  B.  Newton,  M.A. 

L.  F.  Pease,  B.A. 

Edward  Benac 

Carl  von  Boettlicker 

Miss  J.  S.  Reddie 


Miss  M.  L.  London 
Miss  Amy  R.  Williams 
Herbert  Brown,  B.A. 
C.  J.  McCarty,  Jr. 
Miss  A.  E.  Wilson 
Dr.  John  H.  Wescott 
Miss  M.  Chase 
Burton  R.  Miller,  M.A. 
Miss  M.  Williams 
W.  S.  Slauch,  M.A. 
Miss  N.  Fourier 
Miss  E.  L.  Miller 
Miss  E.  Grosvenand 
Miss  M.  Foures 
Miss  L.  Laundrie 
Miss  M.  J.  Bouton 
Miss  Martha  T.  Mears 
Miss  Emma  R.  Bushong 
T.  P.  McMenamin 
Miss  E.  Kent 
Miss  Anna  Michener 
Chas.  F.  Sladen,  M.A. 
Fred  E.  Whitney,  Ph.D. 
Frank  Bryam 
Miss  M.  H.  Irwin 
Miss  A.  S.  N.  Whitby 
A.  H.  High,  M.A. 
C.  A.  McClure,  B.A. 
J.  L.  Arthur 
Miss  A.  W.  Burt 
A.  G.  MacKenzie,  B.A. 
Chas.  K.  Taylor,  B.S. 
Miss  Ethel  M.  Rutherford 
Mrs.  F.  E.  Whitney 
H.  C.  Weaver,  B.A. 
G.  W.  Bacon,  Ph.D. 
C.  K.  Smith,  M.A. 
H.  O.  Smith,  B.A. 
John  Leach,  M.A. 
Miss  N.  K.  Neath 
R.  D.  Brown,  M.A. 


270 


Teachers 

Miss  E.  K.  Clark  E.  F.  Schively,  B.A. 

Rev.  T.  P.  Ege  Miss  Mary  Wright 

Reuben  Haines,  M.A.  L.  D.  Rhoads,  B.A. 

Miss  K.  K.  Kershaw  A.  D.  Sayer,  C.E. 

John  Perot,  B.A.  W.  S.  Truesdeil,  M.A. 


271 


The  Alumni 


*Harchey,  Catherine 

*Wister,  Charles  J. 
*Custis,  Geo.  Washington 
*Robeson,  Andrew 


*Andrews,  James  A. 
*Archer  Samuel 
*Ashmead,  Albert 
^Ashmead,  Charles  F. 
*Ashmead,  George, 
*Ashmead,  John 
*Ashmead,  Theodore 
*Ashmead,  Dr.  William 
*Bacon,  Chas.  W. 
*Barney,  Albert 
*Barclay,  A.  Charles 
*Bayley,  Robert 
*Bensell,  Charles 
*Bensell,  Edmund 
*Bensell,  George 
*Bensell,  James 
*Betton,  Thomas  P. 
*Bird 

*Bispham,  John 
*Bispham,  William 
*Blight,  George 
*Blight,  William 
*Bolivar,  Fernando 
*Bringhurst,  Tudor 
*Bringhurst,  William 
*Brown,  Eugene 
*Byod,  Dr. 
*Cameron,  John 
*Cameron,  Samuel 


1 760-90 

1 790-1 8 10 

*Robeson,  Jonathan 
*Robeson,  Sarah  Ann 
*Shoemaker,  Benj. 

1810-25 

*Cameron,  William 
*Cameron,  Stephen 
^Carpenter,  Albert 
*Carpenter,  George  W. 
*Carson,  Joseph 
*Carson,  Hampton 
*Chancellor,  Wharton 
*Chew,  Anthony  B. 
*Chew,  Henry 
*CIemens,  George 
*Cream,  Richard 
*Coates,  William 
*DeBorbon,  William 
*Denckla,  Paul 
*Dugan,  Joseph 
*Einhardt,  Frederick 
*Evans,  Dr.  Horace 
*Evens,  Charles 
*Evens,  John  B. 
*Field,  Thomas 
*Fisher,  Sydney  George 
*Fisher,  Samuel  Griffith 
*Fisher,  Thomas  R. 
*Fisher,  William  Redwood 
*Foulke,  Henry 
^Francis,  Albert 
*Frazier,  John  F. 
*Frazier,  Percifor 
*Frazier,  William 


*Deceased 


273 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 


1810-25 


*Fry,  William  K. 
*Gabel,  Charles 
*Gratz,  Edward 
*Gratz,  Simon 
*Gratz,  John 
*Grubb,  Edward 
*Haines,  John  P. 
*Harland,  Charles 
*Harland,  Edward 
*Harvey,  Samuel 
*Harvey,  Joseph 
*Harvey,  William 
*Heft,  Samuel 
*Hill,  Thomas 
*Horner,  John  W. 
*Howland,  Alex. 
*Humphrey8,  Andrew 
*Humphreys,  Clement 
*Ingersoll,  Alexander 
*Ingersoll,  Benjamin 
*Ingersoll,  Charles 
*Ingersoll,  Henry 
*Johnson,  Charles 
*Johnson,  Henry  N. 
*Johnson,  William 
*Jones,  Franklin  C. 
*Jones,  George  K. 
*Jones,  Hon.  J.  Richard 
*Keyser,  Reuben 
*Key8er,  Samuel 
*Kirk,  James 
*Kollock,  George  J. 
*Lea,  Thomas  Tatnall 
*Lehman,  Sylvanus 
*Lewis,  Lewellyn 
*Lewis,  Montgomery 
*Linn,  George  W. 
*Littell,  John  S. 
*Lyle,  John 

*  Deceased 


*Lyle,  Joseph 
*Lynch,  William 
*Magargee,  Charles 
*Miller,  David 
*Miller,  Emanuel 
*Moore,  Robeson 
*Morris,  B.  S. 
*Morris,  Robert 
*Eleager,  L.  Moss 
*Naftel,  J. 
*Paul,  Jacob 
*Paul,  Joseph  W. 

*Paul,  Samuel  W. 

*Peacock,  J. 

*Pierce,  James  L. 

*Price,  Glendower  M. 

*Randolph,  Edward 

*Reger,  Isaiah 

*Rittenhouse,  Charles 

*Rittenhouse,  Nicholas 

*Rose,  William 

*Russell,  George 

*Spackman,  Rev.  Henry  S. 

*Spackman,  George 

*Stallman,  James 

*Stockton,  J.  C.  N. 

*Stockton,  William 

*Thomas,  Anthony  J. 

*Todhunter,  Joseph 

*Turnbull,  Alexander 

*Turnbull,  Charles 

*Van  Dyke,  Alfred 

*Wack,  Philip 

*Wagner,  Samuel 

*Wagner,  Tobias 

*Warder,  J.  H. 

*Warrington,  Edward 
*Weaver,  Martin  D. 
*Whelan,  James 


274 


The   Alu 


mm 


*Wilson,  Anthony 
*Wistar,  Richard 
*Wister,  John 

*Ashmead,  James 


*Boyd,  Hamilton 
*Boyd,  James 
*Boyd,  Thomas  A. 
*Coulter,  Levi 
*Coulter,  David 
*Coulter,  Stephen 
*CouIter,  Paschall 
*DuvaI,  Henry 
*Green,  Dr.  A.  W. 
*Hagen,  William 
*Hagan,  Samuel 
*Harvey,  James 
*Heft,  Caspar 
*Ingersoll,  Edward 
*Johnson,  Norton 
*Jones,  Nathan  L. 
*Keyser,  Daniel  L. 
*Keyser,  Jacob 
*Keyser,  John  S. 
*Keyser,  Nathan 


*AIter,  Joseph 
*AIter,  Samuel 
*Alter,  John 


*Ash,  H.  St.  Clair 
*Backus,  William  R. 
*Byed,  Thomas 

*  Deceased 


1810-25 

*Wister,  William 
*Wister,  William  Wynne 

1825-30 

*Barkley,  Thomas 

1830-35 

*Mabyn,  John 
*Martin,  Samuel 
*McCarty,  Adolphus 
*Negley,  Joseph 
*Negley,  John 
*Provost,  John 
"Rittenhouse,  George 
^Rogers,  Charles 
*Roop,  Horatio 
*Roop,  Jacob 
*Strong,  George 
*Strong,  James 
*Stroup,  Daniel 
*Suplee,  Nathan  R. 
*T wells,  Edward 
*Twells,  William 
*Ulmer,  William  A. 
*Wister,  Caspar 
*Wister,  Charles 
*Wister,  Jones 
*Wister,  Louis 

1835-40 

*Ashton,  Dr.  Samuel 
*Jones,  Horatio  Gates 
*Smiley,  Thomas  J.  L. 
*Wister,  Charles  J.,  Jr. 

1 840-45 

*Cameron,  William  B. 
*Cipriano,  Canedo 
*Clark,  Henry 


A  History   of  The  German  town  Academy 


*Clark,  Thomas 
*Clark,  William 
*Clark,  Charles 
*ColIom,  William 
*Collom,  Elias 
*Dickson,  John 
*Fisher,  Charles 
*Fisher,  Lindley 
*Fisher,  William  Logan 
*Gates,  Jabez 
*Hammer,  Dr.  Jacob 
*Henry,  T.  Charlton 
*Henry,  Samuel 
*Holland,  John 
*Spencer,  Kennard 
*Kisterbock,  William  H. 
*Lennig,  Joseph 
*Mehl,  Theodore 
*Mehl,  William 
*Mulford 
*Ozilbee,  Samuel 
*Page,  John 
*Parker,  Edward 
*Partenheimer,  Thomas 
*Patton,  Alfred  S. 
■^Pierce,  Rev.  E,  J. 
*Piper,  George  A. 
*Piper,  William 
Wister,  Wm.  Rotch, 


*Morris,  Charles 
*Wagner,  John 

*Gravenstine,  Charles 


1 840-45 

*Reaver,  Steward 
*Rowland,  Benjamin 
^Rowland,  Thomas 
*Rowland,  Lynford 
*Royal,  Theodore 
*Royal,  Edward 
*Royal,  George 
*Schaffer,  Joseph 
*Shroyer,  Aaron 
*Shugard,  John  A. 
*Shugard,  William 
*Smith,  John 
*Smith,  Samuel 
■*Stevenson,  William 
*Stevenson,  Augustus 
*Taylor,  Malick 
*Thorp,  Thomas 
*Tingley,  Samuel 
*Walker,  Louis 
*Warder,  George 
*Welsh,  Ackman 
*Watson,  Dr.  Barrow  D, 
*Watson,  John 
*Whitaker,  William 
*White,  Thomas 
*Wilson,  William 
^Winters,  James 
*Wister,  Owen  Jones 
505  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

1846-50 

*Wister,  John,  3rd 


185I 


^Hannaberry,  William 


Gates,  James  R. , 


1852 
Green  Street,  Germantown, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 


276 


The   Alumni 


1853 

Bayard,  Charles  M. ,      E.  Johnson  St.,  Germantown,    Philadelphia 
^Carpenter,  George  W. 

1854 

*Wister,  Langhorne 
15th  and  Walnut  Sts. ,      Philadelphia 

1855 

Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia 

W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia 

1856 

*Channon,  Joseph 
*Fisher,  Harvey 


*Strawbridge,  John 
Strawbridge,  Dr.  George, 


Patterson,  C.  Stuart, 
Potter,  W.  Franklyn, 


,  Pa. 


Pa. 


,  Pa. 
,  Pa. 


*Ashmead,  Algernon 
*Chancellor,  Joseph 
*Fisher,  William 

Freas,  John  A. , 

Howell,  Edward  I.  H., 
*Johnson,  Jacob 

Mears,  Edw. ,  Jr., 


Chelten  Ave.,  Germantown,     Philadelphia, 
Main  bel.  Queen  St.,  Gtn.,     Philadelphia, 
*Littell,  Chas.  Willing 

Philadelphia, 


Wister,  Alex.  W.,       5337  Green  St.,  Germantown,      Philadelphia, 

1857 

Hechavaria,  Bernando 
Master  Street,  Germantown,         Philadelphia, 
Green  Street,  Germantown,  Philadelphia, 

*Schaffer,  Rev.  William  A. 
*Wells,  Andrew 
*Whitman,  Charles  G. 
,  120  Walnut  Street,  Philadelphia, 

Wister  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia 


Haupt,  Lewis  M. 

Jones,  John  E., 

Jones,  Woodruff, 
*McKean,  Thomas 
*Royal,  Charlton 

Schaffer,  Charles  A. 

Whitman,  Charles  G., 

Wister,  Francis, 

*Jones,  Thomas  F. 
Knox,  Genl.  Kilburn, 


Gamble,  Rev.  Henry  B. 


Pa. 
Pa. 

Pa. 
Pa. 


Pa. 
Pa. 


,  Pa. 
,  Pa. 


1858 

Soldiers'  Home, 
1859 

i860 


Milwaukee,  Wis. 


Armstrong,  Edward 
Bayard,  James  M., 
Bayard,  William  M. , 

*  Deceased 


Barry,  Edward 
East  Johnson  Street,  Philadelphia, 

5519  Main  St.,  Germantown,    Philadelphia 

277 


,   Pa. 
,  Pa. 


A  History  of  The   Germantown   Academy 


Birchall,  Edward  R 
Booden,  Francis  S. 
Borden,  Henry 
Bussier,  A.  P., 
Butcher,  Sylvanus 
Cabeen,  Francis  von  A., 
*Chase,  William  H. 
Childs,  William  L. 
Churchman,  William  B. 
Coulter,  Levi 
Cuza,  Manuel, 
Doan,  Howard  L. 
Doan,  James  E. 
Dunn,  Thomas  F. 
Dunn,  Vincent 
Earp,  Charles  G. 
Earp,  William 
Einhardt,  Albert  F. , 
Evans,  Dorrance, 
Firth,  Austin  M. , 
Fisher,  William  H. 
Garrett  Willis  A., 
Gibbs,  Josiah  W. 
Giro,  Edilberto, 
Goodman,  Joseph  E., 
Groves,  Anthony  P., 
Groves,  Frederick  S. 
Groves,  Howard, 
Gummere,  R.  Morris 
Gummey,  Brinckley 
Hagar,  Walter  F., 
Haines,  Henry, 
Hallowell,  F.  Howard 
Hannaberry,  Geo.  W. 
Haverstick,  Edward  W 
Haverstick,  Louis  M., 
Heyl,  Albert  G.,  M.D. 
Heyl,  Frances, 
Homiller,   Henry, 

*  Deceased 


i860 

Price  St.,  Germantown,         Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Brooks,  Matthew  W. 
*Brooks,  Winfield  S. 
Harvey  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Haverford,  Pa. 


333  S.  2ist  Street, 


Burd  Building, 
Allen  Lane,  Germantown, 


3416  Race  Street, 
Willow  Grove  Avenue, 

Willow  Grove  Avenue, 


Green  Street,  Germantown, 
W.  Haines  St.,  Germantown, 


117  N.  nth  Street, 
1535  Pine  Street, 
1535  Pine  Street, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Santiago  de  Cuba 


Branchtown,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Westtown,  Pa. 

St.  lajo  de  Cuba 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Branchtown,  Pa. 


278 


The   Alumni 


i860 


Jackson,  Charles 
Jackson,  Joseph 
Jackson,  William 
Jones,  Edwin 
Jones,  William  H. 
Kenderdine,  Frank, 
Kenderdine,  Warner  J 
Lange,  H.  O.  L. , 
LeBoutillier,  Edward 
LeBoutillier,  Robert, 
Le  Brun,  Lajus 

*Lewis,  Percy  M. 
Logan,  Albanus  C. 
McClure,  T.  Russell 
McCuIIogh,  William 
Mclllheney,  William 
Mclntyre,  S.  Maxwell 
Mason,  George  W. 
Mermandes,  Lorenzo, 
Minster,  Joseph  L. 
Mitchell,  Joseph  B. 
Mitchell,  William  F. 
Moore,  William 
Morton,  Algernon  P. 
Norton,  Charles  M. 
Neilson,  Robert 
Pancoast,  Henry, 
Patterson,  Theodore, 
Pequerno,  Pedro, 
Pomeroy,  Clarence 
Potter,  Charles  S. 

*Potter,  Joseph  K. 
Potter,  Matthew  C, 

*Potts,  Austin 
Price,  Charles  S. 
Price,  Philip  H. 
Redles,  Henry, 
Reed,  Henry  H. 
Reichert,  John  H 

*  Deceased 


E.,   E.  Washington  Lane,  Gtn. 
E.  Washington  Lane,  Gtn., 


Jenkintown,  Pa. 

Venezuela 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


E.  Johnson  St.,  Germantown, 
Chestnut  Hill, 


4549  Wakefield  St. ,  Germantown, 
4522  Baker  St.,  Germantown, 

279 


St.  lajo  de  Cuba 


New  York,  N.  Y. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Havana,  Cuba 


Coatesville,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 


i860 

Richards,  James  H.,  1428  N.  17th  Street, 

Rodrigues,  Rodrigo, 

Roop,  W.  Harvey,  D.D.S. ,    Green  and  Harvey  Sts. , 

Rowland,  Joseph 

Rowlett,  William, 

Schaffer,  George  A. 

Schoenberger,  Edwin  P. 

Schoenberger,  George  K. 

Schoenberger,  John 


Scott,  Charles  H., 
Scott,  Charles  L. 
Scott,  Edward  W. 
Scott,  John  C. 
Sellers,  Charles  B. 
Smith,  Robert  S. , 
Spencer,  Charles, 
Stokes,  John  O. 
Tarr,  Henry  C. 
Thomas,  Wm.  H. 
Van  Dyke,  Heberton, 
Van  Dyke,  James 
Walter,  James  D. 
Ward,  S.  Lindsay 
Warner,  Edward  P. 
Warner,  John  S. , 
Wile,  William  C, 
Wister,  Rodman, 
Withington,  Geo.  J. 
Withington,  J.  H.,  Jr. 
Wood,  George  H. 
Wright,  Wm.  Redwood, 

Armstrong,  James 
*Einhardt,  William  H. 
Flen,  Theodore  A. 
Garrett,  James  W., 
Godfrey,  Samuel  T. 
Harmer,  William  P., 
Heap,  Porter 

*  Deceased 


335  Walnut  Street, 


Midvale  Avenue, 


Haines  St.,  Germantown, 
257  S.  4th  Street, 


Fishers  Lane,  Gtn. , 
1861 


102  Maplewood  Avenue, 
Harvey  St.,  Germantown, 

280 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

St.  lajo  de  Cuba 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Nicetown,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Falls,  Pa. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 


New  York,  N.  Y. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Newtown,  Conn. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


The   Alumni 


Hewson,  Alex., 
Heyl,  Edward 
Kempton,  Clifford 
Kempton,  James 
Kempton,  Thomas 
*Leavitt,  Thaddeus,  L. ,  M.D 


1861 
Chestnut  Hill, 


Lippin,  Hiram, 
Norton,  Charles  D., 
Shewill,  William  M. ,  Jr. 
Smith,  Cadwallader 
Tomlinson,  John  W. , 
*Tryon,  Edvv.  K. ,  Jr. 

*Garrett,  E.  Frank,  M.D. 

Glackin,  William  F., 
Gummey,  Walter 

Barrows,  Rev.  William, 
Carpenter,  Quincy 


Roxborough, 
328  Walnut  Street, 


Stenton  Avenue, 


1862 
1863 

1864 

1865 


Churchman,  Chas.  J., 
Knox,  John  C. ,  Jr. 
Knox,  William 
Livezey,  Morris  P. , 
Mclntire,  James 


1217  Spruce  Street, 

Harvey  St.,  Germantown, 

1867 
Main  Street,  Germantown, 

1868 
Harrison  Building, 


Butler,  Edgar  H. , 
*Spencer,  Robert  S. 

Carter,  George  E. , 

Johnson,  Lindley, 

Taylor,  Edward,  M.  D. ,    Queen  Lane  nr  Wissa.  Ave 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Bergin,  Herman,  M.D.,       W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn. , 


Bodine,  Samuel  T. 

*  Deceased 


1869 

U.  G.  I.  Building, 
281 


Vineland,  N.  J. 


Oxford,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 


California 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

,    Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 


Carpenter,  Sydney, 
McCullogh,  Edw. , 
Morgan,  Randall, 
Neiman,  Henry  C. , 
Weiss,  Charles  H., 


1869 

Mt.  Airy, 

U.  G.  I.  Building, 
307  Coulter  St.,  Germantown, 
Main  Street,  Germantown, 

1870 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Los  Gatos,  Cal. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Ashton,  William  E. 

Burgan,  Dr.  Horace,  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


1871 


Aertsen,  Guilliam 
Kingston,  Henry  H. 
Pancoast,  Chas.  E., 
Peck,  Edward  H. , 


North  American  Building, 
E.  Johnson  St.,  Germantown, 
269  Harvey  St.,  Germantown, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Potter,  Sheldon,   W.  Tulpehocken  St.,  Germantown,    Philadelphia,  Pa. 

1872 
Bradley,  T. 
Bradly,  Thomas 
Bradley,  William  M. 
Brooke,  Alex.  H. 
Brooke,  Charles  L. 

Merrick,  Saml.  Vaughan,Jr.,  Wayne  bel.  Queen  St.,  Gtn.,  Phila.,  Pa. 
*Stewardson,  John 

1873 
Ames,  Charles  W. 

Armstrong,  Charles  F. 

Beahl,  George 

Bockius,  Frank  T. 

Caldwell,  Clarence 

Carnaghan,  Charles  S. 

Champion,  John  C. 

Chestnut,  Rev.  Nathaniel 

Clark,  E.  W.,  321  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Clark,  Herman 

Conover,  Frederick  N. 

Conover,  Louis 

Conover,  Stephen  H. 


*  Deceased 


282 


The   Alumni 


1873 


North  American  Building, 
Kensington, 
Tulpehocken  St.,  Germantown, 

Main  Street, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
St.  Martins,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Crenshaw,  Edw.,Jr., 

Cuthbertson,  Robert 

Fulforth,  Rev.  Charles, 
*Garrett,  Lewis  W. 

Hance,  Anthony  M. , 

Heins,  Herman 

Henry,  John  J. , 

Herstine,  S.  T. 

Jones,  Waiter, 

Lunyard,  Thomas  T 

McNeil,  Frank 

McNeil,  John 
*Miskey,  Clarence  A. 

Moss,  Arthur  W. 
*Murphy,  John  II. 

Parvin,  Frank  W. 
*Robson,  Harr 
*Robeson,  Walter 

Senat,  Norwood  P. 
*Sentman,  Pierson  P. 

Sharp,  J.  Henry 
*Spencer,  Stanley  C. 

Smyth,  Charles  L. , 

Spencer,  Warren  O., 

Stevens,  Edward  H. 

Streeper,  Robert  W. 

Thomas,  Frank  W. ,  M.D.,    27  E.  Mt.  Airy  Avenue,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Thompson,  William  H. 

Tilge,  Henry  S. ,       Chelten  Avenue,  Germantown, 


114  S. 
306  S. 


6th  Street, 
1 8th  Street, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Tingley,  C.  Henry, 
Travis,  John  L. 
Travis,  May  (Miss) 
Vogelsang,  John 
Wagner,  Samuel  T. 
Westcott,  John  H. , 
Wright,  Edwin  N. , 


Brown,  T.  Wistar, 

'  Deceased 


Reading  Terminal, 


Chelten  west  of  Morris 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Columbus,  Ohio 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Princeton,  N.  J. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


1874 


School  Lane,  Germantown,        Philadelphia,  Pa. 
283 


A  History    of  The  G  ermantow  n  Academy 


1874 


321  Chestnut  Street, 


Bullock,  William  A. 

Clark,  Clarence  M. , 

Fortesque,  Charles 

Henderson,  Frank 

Johnson,  William,  M. D.,  Main  and  Upsal  Sts. 

Perot,  Thomas  Lea,  Holly  Tree  Farm, 


Finder,  Jesse, 


Armat  Street,  Germantown, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Norristown,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


1875 


Bardsley,  Robert 
Barry,  Charles, 
Blum,  Joseph  A., 
Bradley,  Arthur  L. 
*Carrigan,  William  S 
Coffin,  E.  P. 
Dewees,  William  B. 
Head,  Lane,  M.D. 
Regester,  Collins  D. 
Wiggan,  Alfred  R. , 


E.  Walnut  Latie,  Germantown, 
Main  Street,  Germantown, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Main  Street,  Germantown,       Philadelphia,  Pa. 


236  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn.,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 


1876 
Church  Lane,  Germantown, 


Bardsley,  William 
Bockius,  Morris  R., 
*Butler,  Ralph 
Butler,  Robert  C. 
Clark,  Arthur 
Dager,  Rev.  Forrest  E 
Dalzell,  Isaac, 
Dennison,  Walter  F. , 
Dunning,  George  A. , 
Fling,  George,        Fishers  Lane,  near  Reading  R 


60  Duval  St. ,  Gtn. , 

138  Jefferson  Street, 

Maplewood  Ave. ,  Gtn. 


R. 


Henson,  William  F 
Jacoby,  B.  Newton 
Kane,  Elisha, 
King,  Joseph  B. , 
Kingston,  Charles  E. 
Knott,  Arthur  W. 
Kochler,  H.  C. 
Ladley,  Joseph 
Lewis,  George  Draper, 

*  Deceased 


Main  St.  bel.  Fishers  Lane, 


7315  Boger  St.,  Germantown, 


Washington  Lane,  Gtn. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
West  Chester,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Kane,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 


284 


The   Alumni 


Maddox,  Fletcher  M. 
Miller,  John  W. 
Morgan,  William  B. 
Pancoast,  Henry  S. , 
Perot,  John, 
Peterson,  Walter, 
Senat,  Louis  D. , 
Shingle,  William  H. 
*Smalley,  William  T. 
Taussig,  George  M. 
Wagner,  George  M. , 
Wister,  Chas.  J.,  Jr., 
Wright,  Chas.  G., 
Wunder,  William  B. 
Yeager,  Henry  M. 


1876 


69  W.  Chelten  Ave. ,  Gtn. , 
Johnson  St.,  Germantown, 
Northwood  Cemetery,  Gtn., 

I  Broadway, 
Walnut  below  8th  St., 


203  S.  i2th  Street, 

Arcade  Building, 
6322  Burbridge  St.,  Gtn., 


1877 


Bockius,  John, 

Cholerton,  Edward  M. 

Clough,  John  L. 

Conover,  Fred  N. 

Conover,  Stephen  H. 

Fling,  J.  G. ,  Green  and  Coulter  Sts.,  Gtn., 

Fling,  William  J.,  Fishers  Lane  near  Reading  R.  R. , 

Henderson,  Henry 

Trunick,  Oscar 

1878 
*Ashton,  Samuel,  Jr. 

Cherry,  Albert  M. , 

Clark,  Jos.  8., 
*Cowperthwait,  James  B. 

Higgins,  Dudley 

Kirk,  John  F. ,  Jr. 

Myers,  Paul  John 

Pease,  James,  Jr. 
*Perot,  Francis  Clark 

Scott,  George  S. 

Vail,  Chas.  D. 

Weiss,  George  E.,     Main  above  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn. 

Wright,  Ernest  N., 

*  Deceased 


Main  bel.  Armat  St.,  Gtn., 
321  Chestnut  Street, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia.  Pa. 
Branchtown,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Hatboro,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Pasadena,  Cal. 


285 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  Academy 


1879 


Champion,  Henry  W. 
Cornelius,  Henry  R. 
Kinter,  George  H., 
McCoy,  William  P., 
Morris,  Elliston  Joseph, 
Penrose,  Charles  B., 


Brown,  Hazen,  E 

Gummey,  Chas.  Francis, 
Gummey,  Chas.  Henry, 
Farnum,  Edward  W. , 
Krail,  George 
Rohrer,  Samuel  A. 
Ross,  Augustus  S. 
Sargeant,  George,  Jr., 
Sargeant,  William  W. 
*Schaffer,  L.  Dohr 
Smith,  Alfred  Percival, 
Stewardson,  E.  L., 
Wagner,  John,  Jr., 
Warder,  George  B., 
Wilson,  Frederick  L 


120  S.  i8th  Street, 
1720  Spruce  Street, 

1880 

Penn  St.,  Germantown, 
Franklin  Building, 
6122  McCallum  St., 
Midvale  Steel  Co., 


Girard  Building, 

320  Walnut  Street, 

School  Lane,  Germantown, 

E.  Penn  St.,  Germantown, 


Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Doylestown,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


New  York,  N.  Y. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Bardens,  Rev.  Frank  L 
Bauman,  Rev.  Henry, 
Bayard,  James  Wilson, 
Bradley,  Edward  L., 
Brockie,  William 
Champion,  C.  Carlton 
Collett,  Mark  W. 
Condict,  G.  Herbert, 
Fritz,  Horace  H. , 
Graham,  Harry  L. , 
Harris,  Stephen 
Head,  Joseph,  D.D.S. , 


Johnson  and  Morton  Sts. 
St.  Paul's  Rectory, 


721  Walnut  Street, 
119  Price  St.,  Germantown, 


Blanchard,  Pa. 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Riverside,  III. 


Plainfield,  N.  J. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Hunter,  Allan  D., 
*Johnson,  William  S. 
Kraft,  Dr.  Frederick, 

*  Deceased 


623  Westview  St.,  Gtn.,         Philadelphia,  Pa. 
323  Springfield  Ave.,  Chestnut  Hill,       Phila. ,  Pa. 


New  York,  N.  Y. 


286 


The   Alumni 


Levick,  Richard, 
Lloyd,  Robert, 
Noble,  William  W., 
Wells,  Guilliam  A., 
*Welsh,  Samuel,  3rd 
Wister,  Lewis  W. , 
Woolston,  Joseph  L. , 


Adamson,  Prescott, 
Alburger,  T.  Linton, 
Clark,  Herbert  L., 
Campbell,  Arthur  W. 
Earle,  Arthur 
Eder,  Frederick, 
Farr,  Wm.  W.,  M.D., 
Gillingham,  Harrold  E 
Hacker,  Edward, 
Ilsley,  Edward, 
James,  Archimedes  J. 
McGammon,  Edward, 
McGrath,  Frank  E., 

*Schwartz,  Harry  P. 
Smith,  Logan 
Stoughton,  Augustus  B 
Vail,  George  S.,       W. 
Walker,  George 
Walter,  Frank, 

*Walter,  Minot 
Wilder,  J.  Llewellyn 


1881 
720  Chestnut  Street, 

Sedgwick  Street, 
Drexel  Building, 

Fishers  Lane,  Germantown, 
Chelten  near  Wayne  Ave., 

1882 

Fishers  Lane,  Germantown, 
5914  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn., 
School  Lane,  Germantown, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Oakland  Mills,  Pa. 

Mt.  Airy,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


117  Allen  Lane,  Gtn., 
430  Walnut  Street, 
5309  Germantown  Avenue, 
2006  Spruce  Street, 


119  Maplewood  Ave.,  Gtn. 


,         Land  Title  Building, 
Chelten  Ave.,  Germantown, 


1883 


Elkton,  Md. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Gettysburg,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Boston,  Mass. 


Ashton,  Thomas  G. 

Barrows,  David  R. 

Bell,  Charles  B. 

Blandy,  Isaac  C. 

Brown,  Amos  P.,        E.  Penn  Street,  Germantown, 

Button,  J.  Priestley,  246  W.  Upsal  St.,  Germantown, 

Cornelius,  Justice  C. 

Cowperthwait,  Chas.  T.,  212  S.  4th  Street, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


287 


A  History  of   The  Germantown  Academy 

1883 

Earle,  Thomas 

Engle,  London,  England 

Gray,  Albert  Sidney 

Harris,  John  McArthur,  105  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Jones,  Arthur  W.,  411W.  Chelten  Ave. ,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Kingston,  William  W. 

Knott,  Frederick  H.,       School  Lane,  Germantown,        Philadelphia,  Pa. 
*Langstroth,  Joseph 
*Lee,  Leighton 

McCarter,  C.  Howard 

Moffly,  Wm.  T.,        6624  McCallum  Street,  Gtn.,        Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Morgan,  Reed  A.,         Main  Street,  Chestnut  Hill,         Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Morgan,  Wm.  Cole,  Jr.,     Green  bel.  Coulter  Street,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Reynolds,  Alex.  M. 

Riddle,  Robert 

Rutter,  Harry  P. 

Smith,  Horace  H. 

Stevens,  Theodore 

Stone,  Witmer,      5044  Hazel  Avenue,  Germantown,      Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wister,  A.  W.,  Jr.,  405  Walnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Zogbaum,  Thomas  E. 


1884 

Bliss,  Edgar  S. 

Canfield,  Albert 
*DeHaven,  Walter  T. 

Fielding,  Mantel,    W.  Walnut  Lane,  Germantown, 

Gleim,  Edgar, 

Gleim,  William, 

Harris,  George  B., 

Houston,  Frederick 

Janney,  Morris  A. 

Lightfoot,  T.  Montgomery,    5953  Green  Street,  Gtn.,     Philadelphia,  Pa 

Lloyd,  Frank 

Patterson,  George  S.,  Broad  Street  Station, 

Perry,  Robert  S. ,    Queen  Lane  Manor,  Germantown 

Ralston,  Frank  W.,  U.  S.  Army, 

*Wright,  Walter  C. 
*ZeiIin,  Carlton  B. 

*  Deceased 

288 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Terry  Hill,  Pa. 

Terry  Hill,  Pa. 
Wallingford,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Washington,  D.  C. 


The   Alumni 
1885 

Abbott,  Joseph,  Bristol,  Pa. 

Bache,  Franklin,  Land  Title  Building,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Bayard,  S.  McKean,  Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Blandy,  Graham  F. 

Bond,  Francis  E.  Penlynn,  Pa. 

Brown,  Reynolds  D.,  Queen  Lane  and  Oak  Road,  Gtn. ,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Brown,  Stewardson,      E.  Penn  Street,  Germantown,      Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Benton,  Adrian  H.,  Germantown  Trust  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Cornelius,  William  A. 

Davis,  Charles  Gibbons,  Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Downs,  Norton,  M.D.,  Penlynn,  Pa. 

Duhring,  Warren  J. 

Dunton,  William  R. 

Elliott,  J.  Mitchell,  420  W.  Chelten  Avenue,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Firth,  Henry  H.,       373  Church  Lane,  Germantown,      Philadelphia,  Pa. 

George,  Wm.  H.,     E.  Johnson  Street,  Germantown,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Graham,  Edward  T.,  Redlands,  Cal. 

Hance,  Edw.  H.,  W.  Washington  Lane,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Henderson,  Walter  G.,       3033  Queen  Lane,  Gtn.,         Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Humphreys,  John 

James,  Wm.  B. 

Jenkins,  William  L. 

Jones,  Charles 

Jones,  William  S.,  Wayne  Ave.  above  Manheim,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Jordan,  Edgar  F. 

Kent,  Edward  C. 

Knight,  Edw.  C.  Newport,  R.  I. 

Lewis,  Wm.  Draper,  Walnut  Lane  and  Chew  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Loose,  Frank 

Morris,  Herbert,  Overbrook,  Pa. 

McDowell,  Charles,   W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Germantown,   Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Morgan,  Joseph,        E.  Logan  Street,  Germantown,        Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Newhall,  Walter  S. 
*Palen,  Rufus 

Palen,  William  D. 
*Palmer,  Charles 

Palmer,  Frank  J.,  Coulter  Inn,  Main  and  Coulter  Sts. ,  Gtn.,  Phila.,  Pa. 

Palmer,  Harold 

Peabody,  Charles,  Wayne  Avenue  and  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn.,  Phila.,  Pa. 

*  Deceased 

289 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 


1885 


Perot,  Rev.  Elliston  Montrose,  Pa. 

Prosser,  Edgar  W. ,       Real  Estate  Trust  Company,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Robinson,  Chas.  N.,  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Robinson,  Geo.  Blight,    W.  Price  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Rogers,  Henry  Davis,     231  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Ross,  Walter  L.,                    120  S.  4th  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Rumney,  William  M. 

Schwartz,  Charles  W.,  Jr. ,    W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Schwartz,  John  L. 

138  S.  8th  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

5916  Wayne  Ave.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Sill,  Joseph  T., 
Smythe,  Calvin  M 
Tiers,  Camille  L. 
Tyson,  Russell 
Ulmer,  G.  Linn, 
Upson,  Ambrose 
Wagner,  Wm.  Worrell 
*West,  Samuel 
Woodward,  Henry  S. 
Wright,  John 
Wright,  Minturn  T. 


E.  Walnut  Lane,  Germantown,       Philadelphia,  Pa. 


1886 


3 1 16  N.  Broad  Street, 
16  Court  Street, 
Wissa.  opp.  Manheim  St., 


Abbott,  Frank  L. ,  M.D. 

Altemus,  L.  Coffin 

Backus,  Charles  B., 

Borie,  John  J.,  Jr. 

Brown,  Henry  Ingersoli, 

Butler,  Preston 

Carnegie,  William  A. 

Cherry,  Robert,  Jr.,    Main  above  School  Lane, 

Clayton,  M. 

Coffin,  Thomas, 

Elwyn,  Thos.  L. , 

Fritz,  Jacob  A., 

Gates,  Jay, 

Gummey,  Frank  B., 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Gtn.,    Philadelphia,  Pa. 


181 1  Walnut  Street, 
Land  Title  Building, 
517  Chestnut  Street, 
Green  above  Coulter  St.,  Gtn. 


Gummey,  Rev.  Henry,  Jr., 
Holcomb,  Chauncey  P., 
*Harland,  W.  G.  B.,  M.D. 
Hopkins,  Wm.,  Jr. 

*  Deceased 


Phcenixville,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Haddonfield,  N.  J. 
New  Castle,  Del. 


290 


The   Alumni 


Main  and  Coulter  Sts. ,  Gtn., 
Queen  Lane,  Germantown, 


1886 

Hyslop,  Knox 

Jackson,  J.  T. 

Jones,  Arthur  H. , 

Kinsler,  A.  Rutter, 

Lisk,  Charles 

Lloyd,  Thomas  W. 

Lukens,  Wm.  D. 

Lukens,  Wm.  W. 

McCammon,  Frederick, 

McCammon,  William, 

McKay,  Hood, 

Nichols,  Walter  S., 

Parker,  William  V. 
*Patterson,  Joseph 

Patterson,  Wm.  H., 

Robinson,  Robert  Cole,   Pulaski  ab.  Manheim,  Gtn. 

Royal,  Thomas  M. 

Schoettle,  William  C. 

Shipley,  Walter  C, 

Shoemaker,  R.  H. 
*Smith,  Edward 

Smith,  Vernon 

Starr,  James,  Olney  and  Wister  Sts.,  Gtn., 

Stokes,  David  Frank,       Queen  Lane,  Germantown, 

Tiers,  Walter  A. 

Tingley,  Arthur  S. 

Vail,  William  A., 

Warden,  William  C. 

Wheeler,  Thomas 

Whitelock,  Wallace 

Wister,  Charles,  Jr., 

Wood,  Joseph  R. 

Young,  Alfred  J., 


254  W.  Haines  Street,  Gtn., 


1901  Pine  Street, 
5919  Green  Street,  Gtn. 


W.  Chelten  Avenue,  Gtn., 
Jr.,     School  Lane  and  Wissa. 


Abbott,  T.  A., 
Bacon,  Albert  E., 
Barrington,  Edward 
Berresford,  Howard  R 
Bland,  Lorenzo 

*  Deceased 


521 1  Green  St.,  Germantown, 

66  Haines  St.,  Germantown, 
1887 
Newhall  St.  ab.  Manheim,  Gtn., 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Gettysburg,  Pa. 

Gettysburg,  Pa. 

Pottsville,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Merion,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Gtn.,     Phila.,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Bristol,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


291 


A  History   of  The  German  town  Academy 


1887 


113  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Chincoteague  Island,  Va. 


Crozer  Building, 


Wister  St.,  Germantown,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Bonsall,  Elwood 
Bo  wen,  Milton 
Brockie,  Howell, 
Bunting,  William  C, 
Burgin,  George  H. 
Church,  Edgar  M. , 
Fukutomo,  Tachemichi, 
Garretson,  William, 
Gramm,  William 
Hacker,  Caspar  Wistar, 
^Hamilton,  Paul 

Head,  Frank,  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Germantown, 

Huidekoper,  T   Wallis,         2020  Spruce  Street, 
Johnson,  Topliff,         430  Locust  Ave.,  Germantown, 
Jones,  Melbourne 

Lobenthal,  Clarence  B.,      W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 
McCabe,  Robert  C. 

McDowell,  Marcellus,  191 1  Chestnut  Street, 

Nichols,  Edw.  L.,        423  W.  Rittenhouse  St.,  Gtn., 
Matthews,  Frederick 
Noble,  Walter  H. 

Patterson,  C.  Stuart,  Jr.,  1523  Chestnut  Street, 

Perry,  James  De  Wolfe,  Jr., 
Potter,  Robert  B. 

Proctor,  Edward,  Cayuga  Street,  Germantown, 

Royer,  John  W. ,  Jr. 
Rutter,  Edward  M. 
Schoettle,  Ferdinand, 
Schwartz,  Albert  F., 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Tokio,  Japan 

Pottsville,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
New  Haven,  Conn. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Wister  Street,  Germantown, 
521  Baronne  Street, 
Schwartz,  Preston,  Chew  St.  nr  E.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn. 
Shapleigh,  Marshall 

Shaw,  Edward  H.,    Wayne  and  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 
Snowden,  George 
Starr,  George  E. , 

Steel,  Warner  J.,  21 11  Pine  Street, 

Thomas,  Henry  W. 
Tyson,  George 

Vail,  Louis,  Franklin  Bank  Building, 

Weygandt,  Cornelius,  Wissahickon  Road,  Gtn., 
Williams,  F.  Churchill,  158  W.  Coulter  St.,  Gtn., 
Woodruff,  William 

*  Deceased  292 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
New  Orleans,  La. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Indian  Territory 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


The   Alumni 


M.D. 


Abbott,  Chas.  S, 
Baggs,  Albert  N 
Banning,  Charles, 
Bissell,  E.  Perot, 
Boiling,  Henry  B., 

*Brockie,  John  H. 
Brown,  Herbert, 
Burgin,  Edward  S., 
Clokey,  Rev.  Frank 
Davis,  Henry  L. ,  Jr., 
Davisson,  Joseph  L., 
Deacon,  George  P., 
Dunn,  John  W.  G. , 

*Firth,  S.  Lloyd 
Fleck,  Victor  Hugo 
Garretson,  John  D. 
Greene,  George 
Griscom,  Geo.  S. ,  Jr. 
Groves,  Percy  H. , 
Hacker,  Arthur  H., 

*Harris,  Clinton  G. 
Janney,  Joseph  A., 
Laut,  Edward 
Lee,  Charles  T. , 
Lloyd,  Nelson  M. 
Lorimer,  William  S., 
McDowell,  Frank, 
Martin,  Robert  L. 
Matthews,  Wilbur  K. 
Palen,  Dr.  Gilbert  J., 
Palmer,  Reginald  C. , 
Patterson,  Frank  P. , 
Perot,  Robeson  Lea, 
Prosser,  Reynolds  D., 
Ritter,  Henry  H., 
Shellenberger,  Louis  R 

*Simmons,  Edmund  L. 
Smith,  Sydney  Allen, 
Stoer,  Walter  J., 


Green  St.  above  Harvey,  Gtn., 
Chestnut  Hill, 


Bristol,  Pa. 

Abington,  Pa. 

Tioga,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


20  E.  Penn  St.,  Germantown,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Huntington  Valley,  Pa. 


423  W.  Stafford  St.,  Gtn. 
419  Locust  Street, 
"  Hillchester," 
334  Endicott  Building, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Pottstown,  Pa. 

St.  Paul,  Minn. 


Chestnut  Hill, 
2  Gordon  Place, 

4th  and  Market  Streets, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
New  Brighton,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Gillette,  Wyoming 


Walnut  Lane  and  Wayne,  Gtn.,        Phila. ,  Pa. 
West  Penn  St.,  Germantown,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Professional  Building, 

274  Palmetto  Drive, 
5 15 1  Wissahickon  Road,  Gtn. 

I  Liberty  Street, 
,  239  Maple  Avenue, 

36  E.  Chestnut  Avenue, 
Manheim  St. ,  Germantown, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Dunbar,  Pa. 

Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Helena,  Mont. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 

Oak  Park,  III. 

Chestnut  Hill,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


293 


A  History  of  The  Germantown  Academy 


I 

Teal,  Charles  B., 

Thronburgh,  Robert  H. 
*Turner,  Warner  Jackson 

Vail,  Ernest  M.,        W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Germantown, 

Valentine,  Abram  S., 
-^Vibbert,  Rev.  William  W. 

von  Utassy, George  W.,         27  Washington  Square, 

Wagner,  Jos.  Wood,  3rd  and  Dock  Streets, 

Williams,  Albert 

Williams,  Rev.  Clarence 

Wood,  Henry  M.,  Chestnut  and  Juniper  Sts., 

Wright,   Henry  Price,         230  Allen  Lane,  Gtn., 


Adamson,  R.  Harvey 
Alburger,  Henry  R.,  M.D., 


1889 


School  Lane,  Gtn. 


313  Wister  Street,  Gtn. 


Allen,  Frederick  H. , 
Barrington,  Samuel 
Beresford,  Percy 
Burrell,  Horace  H., 
Chandler,  Geo.  P., 
Clark,  Joseph, 
Dawes,  Dexter  L. 

Doriss,  John  W. ,  429  Walnut  Street, 

Dunlevy,  Richard,  Germantown  Savings  Fund  Society, 
Dunn,  Charles  H., 
Eliott,  A.  Graham, 
Elliott,  Harry  M., 
Elliott,  Rudolph  S., 
Erwin,  Louis 
Falkner,  Maurice 
French,  William  B., 
Fritz,  Clarence  H., 
Fritz,  Sparta 
Gates,  Thomas  S. , 
*Gough,  George 
Gough,  Harry, 
Gummey,  George  S., 
Gummey,  James, 
Hamilton,  Wallace 


1204  Chancellor  Street, 
High  and  Morton  Sts.,  Gtn. 


Chestnut  Hill, 
5346  Lena  Street,  Germantown, 


Morris  Street,  Germantown, 
Walnut  above  7th  Street, 

517  Chestnut  Street, 

care  of  Mrs.  Wright,  Gtn., 

Harrison  Building, 
Broad  and  Walnut  Streets, 


Elizabeth,  N.  J. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Blue  Bell,  Pa. 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Grant,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Dallas,  Texas 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Hempstead,  L.  L 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


*  Deceased 


294 


The   A lumni 


Harmer,  Joseph 
Hayward,  Harry  E 
Hazard,  Spencer, 
Heald,  James 
Levering,  Joseph  S., 

*North,  C.  Robins 
Markee,  John 
McFetridge,  William  S. 
Mergenthaler,  Frederick, 
Mollman,  Rudolph, 
Morton,  Robert  P.  J., 

*PaImer,  Donald  M. 
Pardee,  Calvin,  Jr., 
Parry,  George  C, 
Pearson,  Roderick  G. , 
Price,  Frederick  B. 
Proudfit,  Alexander 
Reeves,  F.  Butler,  Jr., 
Rosengarten,  J.  Clifford, 
Schoettle 

^Schwartz 


1889 

5363  Wingohocking  St.,  Gtn. 
Queen  Lane  Manor,  Gtn. , 

150  Bethlehem  Pike, 


Washington  Lane,  Gtn. 

E.  Penn  Street,  Gtn., 

W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 

Reading  Terminal, 
West  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 


Abbottsford  Ave.,  Gtn., 
Franklin  Bank  Building, 

Mark,  202  Wister  St.,  Germantown, 

T.  Meredith 


Sharp,  Harry  S., 
Smyth,  Geo.  Albert, 
*Stone,  Frederick  D. 
Warden,  Herbert, 
Wolf,  Joseph 
Wood,  Whitney 
Wray,  William  S., 
Wright,  Clifford 

Adams,  Robert  N. 
Baldwin,  Louis 
Beck,  Harold  N 
Brinton,  Frederick  S. 
Canfield,  Lewis 
Clark,  Percy  H., 
Dunn,  Thomas  E. , 
*Foulke,  Edw.  J. 
Henvis,  Frank 


Carpenter  Street,  Germantown, 
242  Harvey  St.,  Germantown, 

Witherspoon  Building, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Chestnut  Hill,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Boston,  Mass. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Wayne  Ave.  opp.  Maplewood,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 


1890 


care  of  Electric  Storage  Battery  Co.,       Chicago,  111. 

Seattle,  Wash. 


321  Chestnut  Street, 
Allen  Lane,  Germantown, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


295 


A  History  of  The    Germantown  Academy 


LeMaistre,  Charles  H., 
Merrick,  DvvightV. , 
Miller,  Martin  Nixon, 
Patton,  George  B. 
Pease,  L.  Frederick, 
Perkins,  Thomas  J., 
Ramsdell,  Ernest  S.,  M.D 
Ramsdell,  Ralph 
Roberts,  Spencer, 
Rogers,  Allen 
Ross,  Louis 

Shermer,  Rev.  Lawrence 
Slaughter,  Frank  W., 
Stewart,  George,  3rd, 
Thackara,  Benjamin 
Tiaball,  Alfred  D. 
Warden,  Nelson, 
Watson,  Albert  T., 
Wetherill,  J.  Cortwright, 


1890 

Southern  Club, 
Canal  Zone, 

Pelham  Manor, 
Upsal  and  Green  Sts. ,  Gtn. 
521  N.  4th  Street, 

26  S.  15th  Street, 


5806  Green  St.,  Gtn. 
Girard  Trust  Co., 


Witherspoon  Building, 
Chestnut  Hill, 


Pelham,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Panama 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Camden,  N.  J. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Bethlehem,  Pa. 


Whitesides,  John  G., 
Williams,  Chester 


W.  Chelten  Ave.  near  Wayne,  Gtn.,   Phila.,  Pa 

189I 

Wister  Street,  Germantown, 
Queen  Lane,  Germantown, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Addams,  Clifford  L 

Allen,  Horace, 
*Benson,  Jay  F. 

Blakeley,  John, 

Blummer,  Harold  P. 
*Brinton,  George  L. 

Brockie,  Arthur  H., 

Brown,  Francis  H., 

Butler,  Louis  E., 

Caveny,  William  E., 

Clark,  Ralph 
*Dager,  Francis  W. 
*Dawson,  Charles 

Elcock,  Thomas  R.,  Glenside,  Pa. 

Fagan,  John  L.,         Queen  Lane  near  Wissahickon,  Gtn.,       Phila.,  Pa. 

Fanshawe,  William  L. ,  Doylestown,  Pa. 

Fleck,  Gussie 


4th  and  Chestnut  Streets, 
20  E.  Penn  St.,  Germantown, 
2340  Virginia  Avenue, 
208  S.  1 2th  Street, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


*  Deceased 


296 


The   Alumni 


764  Bourse  Building, 
U.  G.  I.  Building, 
420  California  Avenue, 


189I 

Garrett,  Chas.  H.,  431  W.  Stafford  St.,  Gtn. 

Garretson,  Bradley 

Gramm,  F.  Emil 

Haag,  Henry 

Harding,  Geo.  W. 

Harding,  John  D. 
*Hassinger,  Charles  M. 

Homer,  Harry, 

James,  Robert  C, 

Johnstone,  Harry  H. , 

Langstroth,  James  H. 

Lloyd,  Chas. 

Lovejoy,  Arthur  O. 

Lovering,  Edgar 

Marshall,  Charles,  Jr., 
*McCormick,  Edward 

Mechling,  Benj.  S., 

Miller,  Charles,  Jr.,  Union  League, 

Miller,  William,       Pastorius  Street,  Germantown, 

Michener,  George  R. 

Morley,  Warren  T.,     E.  Penn  Street,  Germantown, 

Palmer,  R.  Norman 

Patterson,  Francis  D.,  M.D. 

Patton,  George,    Germantown  Ave.,  below  Penn  St., 

Proctor,  Carlton 
^■Raymond,  John  P. 

Ritter,  Charles  W 

Roberts,  Owen  J., 

Rogers,  Wm.  D. , 

Smyth,  Henry  F., 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Reading,  Cal. 


216  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn.,    Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Riverton,  N.  J. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Gtn.,    Phila.,  Pa. 


. ,    Green  and  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn. 
Hale  Building, 
5428  Green  St.,  Germantown, 
M.D., 

M.D.. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Odessa,  Del. 

Doylestown,  Pa. 


Swartzlander,  Frank  B., 

Throckmorton,  Howard 

Tingley,  Edward  C,    Germantown  Trust  Company,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Urban,  Ralph  E. 

Vollmer,  Adrien 

Wetherill,  E.  Kent,  1305  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wetherlll,  J.  Lawrence 

Whitaker,  Frederick  S. ,  Reading  Pike,  Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Williams,  Frederick 

Willing,  George 

*  Deceased  2Q7 


A  History   of  The  G ermantown  Academy 

1891 

Wister,  James  W. ,  M.D.,  Main  St.  opp.  Church  Lane,  Gtn. ,  Phila.,  Pa. 

Yates,  Gordon 

1892 

Alkins,  Albert  E. 

Arnbruster,  Cornelius,    Electric  Storage  Battery  Company,    Chicago,  111. 

Brick,  G.  Percy,  Woodbury,  N.J. 

Cauffman,  Theophilus  F. 

Chapman,  Richard 

Davis,  Stellvvagon 

Dunn,  Frederick  M.,  320  Walnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Fagan,  Maurice  W. ,  Glenside,  Pa. 

Freeman,  George  E.,  Green  St.  bel.  School  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Garretson,  Sheppard 

Graves,  Ferdinand  J.,   Manheim  St.  and  Wissa. ,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Hamill,  John  B.,         Mill  and  Cumberland  Streets,        Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Hazard,  Samuel,     Queen  Lane  Manor,  Germantown,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Hires,  Samuel 

Humphrey,  Rubens 

Janney,  Frank  A. 

Jenkins,  G.  Chapin,  M.D.,     6406  Main  Street,  Gtn.,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Jordan,  William,      531  Pelham  Road,  Germantown,      Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Laird,  Samuel  S. ,  Jr.,     214  E.  Durham  St.,  Chestnut  Hill,     Phila.,  Pa. 

Lippincott,  Horace  M.,    431  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn.,    Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Martin,  Luther,  3rd,  135  William  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Marvin,  Charles  J. 

Mason,  Charles  T.,  W.  Walnut  Lane,    Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Mathews,  Allen  M.,    1710  Cayuga  St.,  Germantown,    Philadelphia,  Pa. 

McDowell,  Joseph,      W.  Penn  Street,  Germantown,      Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Mergentholer,  Harry 

Merrick,  George  S. 

Moore,  Guernsey,  147  N.  loth  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Moorhouse,  William  L.,     West  End  Trust  Building,    Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Morgan,  George  E.,     5343  Green  St.,  Germantown,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Morgan,  Chas.  E.,  3rd,       934  Land  Title  Building,      Philadelphia,  Pa. 
*Muller,  Auguste 

Newhall,  George  T.,  Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Pugh,  Harry  Willis,      W.  Upsal  St.,  Germantown,       Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Reed,  Wells  D. 

Rogers,  Charles  J.,  5136  Newhall  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Smith,  Claude 
*  Deceased 

298 


The   Alumni 


*Snyder,  Walter  W. 
*Teal,  Bernard 

White,  Llewellyn  A. 

Williams,  J.  J.  G.,  M.D., 


1892 


22nd  and  Pine  Streets,      Philadelphia,  Pa. 


1893 
60  E.  Penn  St.,  Germantown, 
5536  Kentucky  Avenue, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Rediands,  Cal. 


5930  Main  St.,  Germantown,       Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Brinton,  Clarence  C. 
Brush,  Clarence  C, 
Bryan,  E.  Horace, 
Carr,  Charles 
Chipley,  Charles  E. , 
Domsififer,  Daniel 
Fullard,  Frank  A. 
*Goodman,  Samuel,  Jr. 
Hart,  Russell  T.,  Main  and  Queen  Sts.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Higgins,  Aubrey 

65  Worth  Street, 
Locust  Ave.,  Germantown, 
Silver 


421  Marlborough  Street, 


Chestnut  Hill, 


Houston,  Wm.   C. ,  Jr, 
Kitchen,  William  G. , 
Langstroth,  Chas.  L. , 
Miller,  Burton  R., 
Moorhead,  William  S. 
Miller,  George  P., 
Nason,  Harold  B., 
Phillips,  Lyn  S. 
Reaney,  Chester 
Sampson,  Frederick  J., 

Schoenhut,  H.  E.,  Jr.,   4519  Gratz  St.,  Germantown, 
Sysemour,  E.  Bayley,        Stephen  Girard  Building, 
Sharps,  Frank  E. 

Shaw,  Arthur  D.,     Walnut  Lane  and  Wayne  Ave., 
Shellenberger,  Edward  B.,  State  Hospital, 

Speese,  Andrew,    210  E.  Chelten  Ave.,  Germantown, 
Stuart,  Edwin  T., 
Tidball,  William 
Uhrig,  John  H., 
Urban,  L.  Ray 
Vorhis,  Benj.  F., 
*Wells,  Howard  P. 


5234  Catharine  Street, 


New  York,  N.  Y. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
City,  New  Mexico 

Boston,  Mass. 

Herndon,  V^a. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Wynnewood,  Pa. 


Savannah,  Ga. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Gtn.,      Phila.,  Pa. 

Warren,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

St.  Davids,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Friendship,  N.  Y. 


Alney,  Judson 


1894 


299 


A  History   of  The  Germantown  Academy 


1894 

Ambuster,  Howard  W. ,  Electric  Storage  Battery  Company,  Chicago,  III. 
Bonnaffon,  Sylvester,  Jr.,  U.  S.  Army,  Washington,  D.  C. 


Bramhall,  Stanley  N 
Burton,  Maurice  C, 
Cady,  Lawrence  N. , 
Canfield,  John  M., 


,        162  Bringhurst  St.,  Gtn. , 
200  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 
4745  Morris  Street, 
Mt.  Pleasant  St.,  Germantown, 
Lincoln  Drive,  Germantown, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Cauffman,  Jay, 

Clough,  John 

Collison,  Hallowell  D.,  in  Bowman  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Davison,  Frank  B.,    Locust  and  Willow  Ave.,  Gtn.,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Davison,  William  M.,        Stephen  Girard  Building,        Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Eastburn,  Emlen  R. ,        5009  Germantown  Avenue,      Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Firth,  Thomas  T.,  Allen  Lane,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Garretson,  Sheppard 

Garretson,  Newton 

Garretson,  John 

Gregg,  Isaac 

Greiner,  W.   Lang 

Gubmeyers,  William 

Gummey,  Walter  Jr. 

Hagar,  Walter  F., 

Hamilton,  B.  S. 

Hanna,  George  A., 

Harris,  Charles 

Johnson,  Russell, 

Jones,  Howard 

Jones,  Livingston  E.,  Wissahickon  Rd.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa 

Kitchen,  J.  Webb,  Locust  Ave.,  Germantown,         Philadelphia,  Pa 

Landell,  Herbert  S. ,        177  E.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn.,       Philadelphia,  Pa 

Laird,  George,  Fishers  Lane,  Germantown, 

Lawson,  Harry,     5000  Wayne  Avenue,  Germantown, 

Leser,  Arnold  H. ,  1700  Tioga  Street, 

Lewis,  H.  Bertram 

Lockwood,  N.  M. 

Love,  George,    Upsal  and  Morton  Sts. ,  Germantown, 

Martin,  Edward  L.,  212  Benefit  Street, 


5  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn. 
Green  Street,  Germantown, 
2604  N.  i2th  Street, 
Chestnut  Hill, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Mechling,  Edw.  A. 
Miller,  George  K. 
Mitchell,  Ralph  M. 
Mullen,  Isaac 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Providence,  R.  I. 
Wingohocking  Heights,  Pa. 


300 


The   Alumni 


1894 

Miller,  William,  K.,  M.D.,    Green  ab.  Coulter  Sts. 

Myers,  Ira  S., 

North,  Edwin  Benson,  4  Irving  Place, 

Page,  Robert, 

Pack,  Wm.  P. 

Pierce,  Harry  T. 

Plack,  Bertram  V. 

Porter,  Harold  B., 

Potter,  T.  Clifford,  Jr. 

Purvis,  Robert 

Reagan,  William  A. 

Richardson,  Warner  S 

Scott,  William  P., 

Sheridan,  George  H., 

Tattersfield,  James  E. , 

Taylor,  George, 

Thornton,  Albert,  Jr., 

Titus,  Harry  L. 

Tuft,  John, 

Vorhis,  Albert  B.,  Jr., 

Wistar,  Frederick, 

Wood,  John  A., 


Allen  Lane,  Germantown, 


Queen  Lane  Manor, 


Main  and  Herman  Sts. , 
School  Lane,  Germantown 
W.  Union  Avenue, 
100  Apsley  Street,  Gtn., 
15  Armat  St.,  Germantown 
169  W.  Rittenhouse  St., 


4685  Knox  St.,  Germantown, 
4607  Wakefield  Street, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Pipersville,  Pa. 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Gtn.,       Phila.,  Pa. 

,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Chestnut  Hill,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Elkton,  Md. 
Friendship,  N.  Y. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Axford,  Edward, 
Baker,  Percy  S. 
Bradshaw,  Shelbourne 
Brett,  Nathan  C. 
Brown,  Theodore  E., 


1895 
243  E.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn., 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Cady,  H.  Dewees, 
Chapman,  Charles 
Chapman,  Edward, 
Coffin,  Francis  H., 
Day,  Charles, 


Oak  Road  above  Midvale,  Gtn.,        Phila.,  Pa. 
4745  Morris  St.,  Germantown,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

mi  Delaware  Street,  Scranton,  Pa. 

Clapier  Street,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

de  Krafft,  William  R.  J.,        500  N.  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Dunn,  Harold  E.,          E.  Washington  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Erdman,  Walter,                  5516  Morris  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Fanshawe,  John,               Broad  and  Walnut  Streets,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


301 


A  History  of  The    German  town  Academy 


1895 

Allen  Lane,  Germantown, 
1333  Tioga  Street, 
Ursinus  College, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Collegeville,  Pa. 


Chestnut  Hill, 


Firth,  Thos.  T., 

Fischer,  Gustavo, 

Fox,  Harry, 

Freeman,  Samuel  M. 

Gibbs,  Earle 

Goodman,  William  E. , 

Hamilton,  Robert  Christopher,    127  Springfield  Ave. 

Hanis,  Charles 

Harte,  Richard  G. 

Harris,  Montgomery,  326  Walnut  Street, 

Hartwell,  Warren,  32  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 

Hedges,  John,  M.D.,  Main  St.  and  Maplewood  Ave.,  Gtn.,  Phila.,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Chestnut  Hill,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Jacobs,  Downing, 
Johnson,  J.  Warner, 
Jones,  Arthur  N. , 
Jones,  Howard, 
Jones,  Ralston  P. 
King,  Frederick, 
Laird,  George, 
Lear,  John  Brock, 
Lewis,  H.  Bertram 
Matthews,  George 
McDavitt,  Charles, 
Mechling,  Edward  A 
Moorhouse,  Kennedy 
Miller,  Philip 
Piez,  William 
Roberts,  John  T. 
Rhodes,  Charles 
Rhodes,  William 
Rivinus,  E.  Florens, 
Rivinus,  F.  Markoe, 
Schoenhut,  Loring  C. , 
Schwartz,  Walter  M. , 
Seymour,  W.  Percy 
Shellenberger,  John, 
Sketchley,  William  J., 
*Thackara,  W.  M. 
Treichler,  Walter  C, 

*  Deceased 


Boyer  Street, 
7308  Bryan  Street, 
School  Lane  near  Morris  St. 
no  Maplewood  Avenue, 

32  Liberty  Street, 
Fishers  Lane,  Germantown, 


Mt.  Airy,  Pa. 

Mt.  Airy,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Mt.  Airy,  Pa. 


Wayne  Ave.  below  Apsley  St.,  Gtn.,     Phila.,  Pa. 
. ,         Mill  St.,  Germantown,         Philadelphia,  Pa. 


425  Walnut  Street, 
Land  Title  Building, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Main  St.  below  Luray  St.,  Gtn.,       Phila.,  Pa. 
525  Hansberry  St.,  Gtn.,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 


School  Lane,  Germantown, 


Doylestown,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Main  and  Penn  Sts. ,  Gtn.,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 


302 


The   Alumni 


1895 

Tunnell,  Raymond,  15  N.  5th  Street, 

Watson,  Philip  M.,         223  W.  School  Lane,  Gtn. 
White,  George  R. ,         144  W.  Penn  Street,  Gtn., 
White,  Samuel  S. ,     Wayne  opp.  Maplewood  Ave. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Gtn.,      Phila.,  Pa. 


1896 


Brockie,  Edward  S 
Cauflfman,  Geo.  J. 
Cornelius,  John  C. ,  Jr. , 
Cregar,  Ninian  C, 
Earnshaw,  Reginald, 
Fischer,  Otto  Arthur, 
Gould,  Harry  R. 
Jelden,  George 
Justice,  William  Warner, 
Lansdale,  Philip  M. 
Lear,  George, 


113  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn.,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 


225  W.  Tulpehocken  St.,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 
3  Upsal  Terrace,  Gtn.,         Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Riverton,  N.  J. 
1333  Tioga  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Clapier  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

U.  G.  L  Building,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Lloyd,  John  E. ,            29th  Street  and  Ridge  Avenue,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Marvin,  Dwight  William,  Troy,  N.  Y. 

McCarty,  Charles  J.,  Jr.,    164  E.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Morris,  Robert,  Wayne,  Pa. 

Newhall,  C.  Stevenson,     Midvale  Ave.,  Falls  P.  O.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Page,  Robert,           Allen  Lane  and  Green  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Peck,  Arthur  B. 

Purviance,  George,         410  W.  Stafford  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Reaney,  Samuel,                E.  Duval  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Rousseau,  Louis 

Schwartz,  George  Jacob,  Jenkintown,  Pa. 

Scott,  John  H.,          Wayne  and  School  Sts. ,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Sharp,  Allison,             309  W.  Johnson  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Sheppard,  Walter  L.,         Commonwealth  Building,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Spencer,  Lindley  C. 
Taylor,  Chas.  K. 

Taylor,  H.  Birchard,           214  Hortter  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Taylor,  N.  Hollingshead,     Wissahickon  Heights,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Thornton,  John  F. 

Tourison,  Ashton,  Jr.,         505  E.  Sedgwick  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Treichler,  Claude,            Main  and  Penn  Sts.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Underwood,  Stewart 

van  Schaick,  Benjamin,            The  Rittenhouse,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


303 


A  History    of  The  German  town  Academy 

1896 

Watkins,  Harry 

White,  Linden  Harris,  903  Diamond  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wireman,  Henry  Ferdinand 

Wiltbank,  Clarence  H. 

1897 

Beesley,  Charlton  Wistar,    28  W.  Coulter  St.,  Gtn. ,     Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Bussinger,  George,  Blue  Bell  Hill,  Pa. 

Campbell,  John 
Campbell,  William 

Cartwright,  Henry  R. ,  Jr.,      Prospect  Ave.,  Chestnut  Hill,       Phila. ,  Pa. 
Chapman,  Edward,  Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Child,  Stanley  G. ,  4545  McKean  Ave.,  Gtn.,         Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Crowell,  George  Robinson,     Wayne  and  Rittenhouse  Sts.,      Phila.,  Pa. 
*Coleman,  William 
Davis,  George  Harry,  Jr.,    109  W.  Allen  Lane,  Gtn.,   Philadelphia,  Pa. 
DeNormandie,  Robert 

Earnshaw,  Boulton,  Riverton,  N.  J. 

Figner,  Franklin  W.,       212  W.  Hortter  St.,  Gtn.,        Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Pa. 

Pa. 

Pa. 

Pa. 

Pa. 

Pa. 

Pa. 

Pa. 

Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 


Firth,  Thomas,                   Allen  Lane,  Germantown,  Philadelphia 

Flavell,  Frank,  Ambler 

Gray,  Henry  W. ,  Jr.,   Wayne  Ave.  ab.  Manheim  St.,  Gtn.,   Phila. 

Gummey,  Walter,        Wayne  Avenue,  Germantown,  Philadelphia 

Hearst,  Thomas  C,           420  School  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia 

Kelly,  Gregory  C. ,      Cliveden  Ave.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia 

Littlefield,  Paul  G.,        23  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia 

Mellor,  W.  Bancroft,             Queen  Lane  Manor,  Philadelphia 
Miles,  Walter  Piersol 

Moorhouse,  H.  Wilson,     West  End  Trust  Building,  Philadelphia 

Newhall,  Cushman,  St.  Martin's 

Parker,  Thos.  B.,        5122  Green  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia 

Patton,  Gideon  H.,  M.D.,      227  Mill  Street,  Gtn. ,  Philadelphia 

Paulding,  John  T. ,        W.  Penn  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia 

Pearson,  Paul  P.,       5 112  Newhall  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia 

Perkins,  Penrose  R.,                 22  S.  3rd  Street,  Philadelphia 

Scott,  Charles,              Allen  Lane,  Germantown,  Philadelphia 

Smyth,  Frank,  Jr.,  Rydal 

Stoer,  John  Frederick,  Jr.,     412  Manheim  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia 

Stokes,  Lowber,          Upsal  Terrace,  Germantown,  Philadelphia 

*  Deceased 


The   Alumni 


Tattersfield,  Max, 
Thackara,  Chas.  V., 
Underwood,  M.  E. 
Vogt,  Wilfred 
Watson,  Henry  E.  G. 
White,  Wm.  Littell, 
Wistar,  J.  Morris, 


1897 
Franklin  Bank  Building, 


Schenectady,  N.  Y. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Wayne  above  Penn  St.,  Gtn. ,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Cynwyd,  Pa. 
114  S.  4th  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


1898 


Banks,  Dudley  B. 

Boltz,  John  C,  Pelham  Road, 

Bradshawe,  Shelburne, 

Bryan,  Joseph  V.,      118  W.  Upsal  St.,  Germantovvn, 
Carson,  Edwin  S. 

Coggins,  Herbert,  4547  McKean  Avenue, 

Cregar,  Samuel  Henry,  3  Upsal  Terrace,  Germantown, 
Cregi,  S.  Harry,         Upsal  Terrace,  Germantown, 
Denise,  Wm.  H.,  243  Winona  Avenue, 

Diller,  Harry  C,  317  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Germantown, 
*Eisenbrey,  Arthur 
Flood,  John  Henry 
Garrison,  David  Herbert, 

Graves,  Nelson  Z. ,  Jr.,  Wissahickon  below  Manheim, 
Gray,  Luther  Albert,  Locust  Ave.  and  Chew  St.,  Gtn., 
Hagar,  F.  Kimball,      5013  Green  St.,  Germantown, 
Hendrickson,  Wm.  A.,    Fishers  Lane,  Germantown, 
Hobbs,  Charles  W. 
Hoilingsworth,  Israel  Pemberton 
Hopkins,  Geo. ,  Jr. 
Incledon,  Henry 

Laird,  John  L. ,  Fishers  Lane,  Germantown, 

Langstroth,  Frank 

Lindsay,  James,  Jr.,  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Germantown, 
Merrihew,  Frank,  Jr. 
Merrihew,  Herbert 
Metzgar,  Augustus 
Miller,  Robert  N., 
Newhall,  David, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Bryn  Mawr,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Bridgeton,  N.  J. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Mermaid  Lane, 
Pancoast,  Albertson  H. ,     Green  and  Seymour,  Gtn. , 

*  Deceased 


Bridgeton,  N.  J. 

St.  Martins,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


A  History   of  The  Gerffiantown  Academy 

1 898 

Peabody,  Geo.  E.,  Jr.,             3327  Walnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Persch,  Harry  A. 

Potter,  Wilson,                         Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Raymond,  Henry  J.,        Green  Street,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Sharp,  Neilson,     239  W.  Johnson  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Shellenberger,  James  M. ,  Doylestown,  Pa. 

Simpson,  Albert  M. 

Snovvden,  Frank  G. 

Speese,  John,      331  E.  Chelten  Ave.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Steele,  J.  Vernon 

Stokes,  Thomas,         Upsal  Terrace,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Thompson,  J.  Robert 

Tuke,  Rev.  Charles  Edward,   32142nd  Ave.,   North  Billings,  Montana 

Watson,  James  V.,         313  Earlham  Terrace,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Woodward,  G.  C. ,      67  High  Street,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Williamson,  Jesse,  3rd,         517  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wilson,  John,         McCallum  and  Franklin  Streets,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wistar,  Caleb  Cresson,  Jr.,    4685  Knox  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

1899 

Adamson,  Arthur  R.,     Wister  opp.  Clarkson,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Almy,  Samuel  M. 
Ayres,  Walker 

Baker,  F.  Wharton,  221  Winona  Ave.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Barlow,  J.  Sanderson,  Fort  Washington,  Pa. 

Brady,  Thomas,  Keokuk,  Iowa 
Brett,  Harold 

Bromley,  Jos.  H. ,     Chelten  and  Wissa.  Aves. ,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Burroughs,  Jos.  H.,  Jr.,  Wyndmoor  Station,  Chestnut  Hill,   Phila. ,  Pa. 

Butler,  Harris  A.,        58  Harvey  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Caveny,  Harmon,  P.,      256  High  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Chapman,  Chas.  J.,                  Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Chapman,  Joseph,               1420  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Clark,  Lawrence,       252  High  Street,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Dodge,  Kern,         5135  Pulaski  Ave.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Edwards,  Daniel,  Woonsocket,  R.  I. 

Emerson,  Raffe  Florstane,          Lehigh  Valley  R.  R.,  Bethlehem,  Pa. 

Evans,  William,         4531  Knox  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Galbraith,  Walter,     4529  Knox  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Henry,  Howard  Houston,  Camp  Hill,  Pa. 

306 


The   Alumni 
1899 

Hill,  Rowland,  21  Gilmore  Ave.,  Merchantville,  N.  J. 

Hillman,  Charles  S.,    100  E.  Upsal  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Humphreys,  Frank  W. ,         113  Seymour  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Kelly,  J.  Barry,                    1124  Girard  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Kingsley,  Ralph,     4733  Chew  Street,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Lavino,  E.  George,                 The  Gladstone,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Lear,  William  P.,  Doylestown,  Pa. 
Lloyd,  William  M. ,                                                            Downingtown,  Pa. 

Malone,  Watson,               Laurel  Street  Wharf,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Martin,  David  G. 

McMurtrie,  Richard,  Carpenter  Street,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Mendel,  Earl 
Mitchell,  Clifton 

Morgan,  Marshall  S. ,    Willow  Grove  Ave.,  Chestnut  Hill,     Phila. ,  Pa. 

Mason,  Frank  R. ,        220  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Osbourne,  Sidney 

Peacock,  Alex.,    121  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Peacock,  Chauncey  H.,      1648  Land  Title  Building,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Peirce,  George,  Haverford,  Pa. 

Pearson,  Forrest  G.,     Manheim  and  Newhall  Streets,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Phillips,  Benjamin  T. 

Pitfield,  Emlen,    521 1  Wayne  Avenue,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Pullinger,  Frank  H.,  102  E.  Washington  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Reed,  Warren  A.,                421  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Scott,  Garfield,       School  and  Wayne  Avenue,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Settle,  John 

Stevens,  Raymond,      168  Queen  Street,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Stoever,  Philip  F. ,     6214  Wayne  Ave.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Stokes,  Bernard,            Summit  St.,  Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Stone,  Frank  S.,          Gravers  Lane,  Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Tingley,  Julian,                        Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Tobias,  Hubert,  Mt.  Carmel,  Pa. 

Tourison,  George  B. ,                 3  E.  Sedgwick  St.,  Mt.  Airy,  Pa. 
van  Vorhis,  John 
*Walbridge,  Leonard  K. 

Weidner,  Andrew,  Jr.,    157  Maplewood  Ave.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Wetherill,  Price 

Williams,  Aubrey  H.,      403  W.  Stafford  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Winters,  O.  E.,    6823  Musgrove  Ave.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

^  Deceased 


A  History  of  The  G ermantown  Academy 


1900 

Bechtel,  Charles  H.,  Allen  Lane  and  Scott  St.,  Gtn. , 
Bilyeu,  Wm.  F.,  200  Wister  Street,  Gtn., 

Bowen,  Saml.  B. ,  Jr.,      Wayne  above  Johnson  St., 
Bromley,  Charles  S.,  Westview  and  Wayne  Aves.,  Gtn. 
Brooks,  W.  Geo.,  5618  Hancock  St.,  Gtn., 

Davis,  Wm.  M. ,         Wissa.  and  Clapier  St.,  Gtn., 
Dougherty,  Thomas,         W.  School  Lane,  Gtn., 
Erdman,  Henry  P. ,  5922  Green  Street,  Gtn. , 

1333  Tioga  Street, 
Provident  L.  and  T.  Co., 

Harrison  Building, 
Willow  Grove  Ave., 
Hanson,  Ellis,         6358  Green  Street,  Germantown, 
Hendrickson,  Saml.  J.,      337  Manheim  Street,  Gtn., 
Hollingsworth,  Roger  P. 


Fischer,  Adolph, 
Foulke,  George  W. , 
Foulke,  Walter  L., 
Grubb,  Edward, 


Hunt,  Warner  Isaac, 
Jackson,  Richard 
Jay,  Edward  G. , 
Jordan,  J.  Canfield, 
Laird,  Lewis  F. , 
Mclntire,  Stuart, 
Mears,  Frank, 
Metzgar,  Herbert 
Morris,  Alex.,  Jr., 
Mullen,  Robert  F. 
Newhall,  William  P. 
Pierce,  George, 
Rhodes,  Charles,  Jr., 
Robins,  George  R., 
Seager,  Richard  V. 
Seeds,  Joseph  R., 
Smith,  Waiter, 
Stokes,  Samuel  E. , 
Stewart,  Wm. , 
Stulb,  Joseph  R., 
Vail,  Frederick  C. 
Watt,  Craig  M., 
White,  Walter  G. 


1219  Market  Street, 

West  Lehman  Street,  Gtn. , 

61 13  Adams  Street, 
Fishers  Lane,  Germantown, 
4845  Pulaski  Avenue, 


5 141  Wissa.  Road,  Gtn., 
440  School  Lane,  Gtn., 
Upsal  and  Emlen  Sts.,  Gtn. 


151  School  Lane,  Germantown, 

6806  Paschall  Avenue, 
Coulter  and  Wayne,  Gtn., 
Queen  Lane  Manor,  Gtn., 

48  Allen  Lane,  Germantown, 

Land  Title  Building, 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Chestnut  Hill,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Branchtown,  Pa. 

Tyrone,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Woodbury,  N.  J. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Gettysburg,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


*  Deceased 


308 


The   Alumni 


1901 


82  High  Street,  Germantown, 
Wister  and  Clarkson,  Gtn. , 


128  W.  Upsal  Street,  Gtn. 


Adamson,  Geo.  W 

Adamson,  Philip, 

Bell,  Harry  S., 

Berg,  Raymond 

Bockius,  Chas.  A. 

Brady,  Jos.  L. , 

Brown,  John  A., 

Corson,  Edw.  H., 

Cummings,  Charles  H.,     240  W.  Tulpehocken  St. 

Davenport,  Bertram,     15  W.  Louden  Street,  Gtn., 

DeLong,  J.  Wayne,         5426  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn., 

Earley,  Samuel,         23rd  and  Tioga  Streets,  Gtn., 

Evans,  John  J.  H.,      203  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 

Fargo,  Allen  W. 

Flavell,  Ralph  W., 

Gondiss,  Charles, 

Gould,  J.  Frederick, 

Grove,  Walter  H., 

Hammett,  Royal, 

Henszey,  Thomas, 

Hill,  Geo.,  2nd 

Howard,  Smith,     Pulaski  and  W.  Logan  Sts. ,  Gtn 

Kelly,  Charles,  Jr.,       Trust  Co.  of  N.  America, 
Winona  Avenue,  Gtn., 
Carpenter  Station, 
Upsal  Street,  Germantown, 
118  Rittenhouse  Street, 
370  Church  Lane,  Gtn., 
W.  Johnson  Street,  Gtn., 


5438  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn., 

537  Dilwyn  Street,  Gtn., 

127  Harvey  Street,  Gtn., 

123  Tulpehocken  St.,  Gtn., 

Wayne  and  Lincoln  Drive, 

Coulter  and  Hancock  Sts.,  Gtn. 


Kimber,  E.  Walter, 
Lea,  Robert  Cabeen, 
Lister,  J.  Morgan, 
Mason,  J.  H., 
Mechling,  Benj.,  Jr., 
Paul,  Harry  S., 
Peacock,  Walter  W., 
Peirce,  Converse, 
Pennewill,  Edward  E. 
*Potter,  Clarence  W. 
Richards,  Lyle  H., 
Rosenthal,  John  S., 
Seeds,  Harry  C. , 
Sharp,  Arthur, 
Sheble,  J.  Howard,  Jr. 


206  Wister  Street,  Gtn. , 
142  School  Lane,  Gtn., 
706  Cambria  Street,  Gtn. , 
E.  Washington  Lane,  Gtn. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Chestnut  Hill,  Pa. 


Keokuk,  Iowa 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Plymouth,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
St.  Martins,  Pa. 
Haverford,  Pa. 


Olney,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


*  Deceased 


309 


A  History   of  The  G ermantown  Academy 


Spaeth,  Sigmund, 
*Stewart,  James  VV. 
Taylor,  Robert  F., 
Tissot,  Louis,  Jr. , 
Topham,  Bertram, 
*Tourison,  Charles  R. 
Very,  Hale  S., 
Walker,  Charles  T., 
Walsh,  Clifford  R. 
White,  Frank  S., 


I9OI 
Princeton  University 

240  Wister  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Green  St.  below  School  Lane,  Gtn.,     Phila. ,  Pa. 

5623  Main  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

5327  Hancock  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

2722  N.  nth  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

144  W.  Penn  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


1902 

29  W.  Johnson  Street,  Gtn., 


5136  Wayne  Avenue,  Gtn., 
Wayne  Ave.  and  Johnson  St. 
Queen  Lane,  Germantown, 


Alexander,  Lynn  B., 
Benniger,  Raymond  D 
Booth,  Samuel  B. , 
Cauffman,  Herman  G. 
Clark,  Edw. ,  3rd, 
*Cody,  Christopher 
Coxe,  Lawrence  S. 

Davis,  James,  Wissahickon  opp.  Clapier  St.,  Gtn., 
Douglass,  Morgan  M. ,  147  E.  Coulter  St.,  Gtn., 
Douredoure,  Ernest,  132  Maplewood  Ave.,  Gtn., 
Gayley,  Henry, 

Godwin,  Walter  J.,         437  W.  Lehman  St.,  Gtn., 
Groves,  Fred  A.,  5929  Wayne  Street,  Gtn., 

Haines,  R.,  166  School  Lane,  Germantown, 

Huggins,  Ruberson,  2612  Jessup  Street,  Gtn., 

Jones,  Lloyd  P.,  Stafford  Street,  Germantown, 

Kennedy,  Harry  A. 
Kershaw,  W.  Ernest, 
Lamb,  William  H. , 
Lanz,  Harry  P., 
Leopold,  Raymond, 
Lewis,  Harry, 
Lindsay,  Karl  C. , 
Lovett,  Louis, 

Mansfield,  Clarence  S. ,  48  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn. 
McCormick,  J.  Cleveland,  230  W.  Tulpehocken  St. 
Nyce,  Robert  J. 


215  E.  Penn  Street,  Gtn., 

725  W.  Marshall  Street, 
310  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn., 
239  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn., 
143  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

,  Gtn.,  Phila.,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Overbrook,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Oak  Lane,  Pa. 

Norristown,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Geneva,  N.  Y. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Gtn.,    Phila.,  Pa. 


*  Deceased 


310 


The   Alumni 


1902 

*Potter,  Clarence 
Potts,  Joseph  W. ,  5344  Magnolia  Ave.,  Gtn., 

Purssell,  Arthur,       6376  Main  Street,  Germantovvn, 
Randolph,  W.  Archer,         132  Price  Street,  Gtn., 
Robins,  Arthur,  505  Hansberr^-  Street,  Gtn., 

Rommel,  J.  Willis,  4919  Florence  Avenue, 

Ross,  Edw.  Jackson,         76  W.  Upsal  Street,  Gtn., 
Rushton,  Stanley 
Schoenhut,  Horace  R. 
Shrack,  J.  Lanning 
Sibson,  Mahlon  T. , 
Taggart,  Paul  L. , 
Tiers,  Joseph, 
Tunnell,  F.  Harold, 
Watson  William  S. , 
Weber,  Carl  P., 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Chelten  and  Stenton  Aves. ,  Gtn.,     Phila. ,  Pa. 


207  Phil-Ellena  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

36  E.  Washington  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

134  Highland  Avenue,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

250  Tulpehocken  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

5333  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

414  W.  Chelten  Ave,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Why,  Foster  J.,    189  Bringhurst  Street,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Williams,  Carl  M.,         456  Locust  Avenue,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Williamson,  Basil  M.,      1 13  Bethlehem  Pike,  Chestnut  Hill,  Pa. 

Woodroffe,  G.  Harry,     31  W.  Johnson  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wolf,  Franz  H.  D.,           5033  Knox  St. ,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Bader,  Charles  L. , 
Bevan,  Harry  J., 
Bradbury,  H.  Wilson, 
Brooke,  Geo.  A. , 
Brown,  Charles  T 
Cross,  James  E., 


1903 

5013  Woodland  Avenue, 

2502  S.  Broad  Street, 

239  Rittenhouse  Street, 

5235  Arch  Street, 

128  W.  Upsal  Street,  Gtn., 

5107  Wayne  Street,  Gtn., 


Dallam,  D.  English,  Jr.,    Stafford  and  Wissa.  Ave 
Davis,  Harry  B.,  11 17  N.  Nevada  Ave.,        Co 

Davis,  Richard,  302  School  Lane,  Gtn., 

de  Zouche,  John  J.,  Jr.,      6623  McCallum  St.,  Gtn 
Downing,  Leffert  L. 

Fargo,  Frank  M.  J.,        706  Church  Lane,  Gtn., 
Farrar,  Norman,  1128  Somerset  St.,  Gtn., 

Flavell,  Edwin,       5340  Green  Street,  Germantown, 
Flower,  Ralph  L.,         133  W.  Upsal  Street,  Gtn., 
Gilpin,  Arthington,  Jr.,     242  School  Lane,  Gtn., 
Glassey,  G.  Albert,         105  W.  Hortter  St.,  Gtn., 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
,  Gtn.,  Phila.,  Pa. 
lorado  Springs,  Colo. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


311 


A  History    of  The  Germantown  Academy 


1903 

Goodfellow,  Arthur  N.,     232  W.  School  Lane,  Gtn., 
Hartwell,  Cushman,       119  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 
659  N.  loth  Street, 
41  Harvey  Street,  Gtn., 

Upsal  Street, 
135  Pomona  Terrace,  Gtn., 
Prospect  Avenue,  Gtn., 
School  Lane,  Germantown, 
31  Phil-Ellena  St.,  Gtn., 

H 
239  W.  Chelten  Avenue,  Gtn., 
164  E.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn., 


Hayes,  Michael  D., 
Hershey,  James  E., 
Holton,  John  N., 
Howard,  Elmer  V., 
Jenks,  Geo.  B., 
Kinley,  Arthur  E., 
Lavino,  Edwin, 
Lea,  Alfred, 
Lewis,  Charles  F. , 
McCarty,  Henry  B., 
McClosker,  Joseph  H. ,  660  N.  39th  Street, 

McCouch,  Gordon  M.,  8313  N.  27th  Street, 

McCulIock,  M.  T.,  Princeton  University 

McEvoy,  Thomas,     McKean  and  Clapier  Sts.,  Gtn., 
Miller,  David  H.,  251  Harvey  Street,  Gtn., 

Moore,  Edw.  W.,  Jr.,  45  W.  Tulpehocken  St.,  Gtn. 
Piatt,  Allen  H.,  624  Orange  Street, 

Pugh,  Chas.  H.,       48  E.  Penn  Street,  Germantown, 
*Pusey,  William  J. 
Roberts,  Harold  E., 
Royce,  Lewis  G., 
Senseman,  John, 
Shields,  Ellwood  E., 
Sieber  Herbert  L., 
Spaeth,  Reynolds  A., 
Smith,  Earl  M. 

Stokes,  J.  Spencer,  54^9  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn., 

Stokes,  John  W.,     Wissahickon  and  Frank  St.,  Gtn. 
Stokes,  Walter,        Wissahickon  and  Frank  St.,  Gtn. 
Stulb,  Edwin  H.,  Jr.,         Allen  Lane,  Germantown, 
Tobias,  Raymond  B.,  Vought  Building, 

van  Court,  Lewis,       Manheim  St.  and  Pulaski  Ave., 
Very,  Edward  M.,  5027  Hancock  Street,  Gtn., 

Walker,  Charles,  2722  N.  nth  Street, 

Weber,  Carl  P.,  414  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn., 

Weiss,  Charles  R. ,       159  Maplewood  Ave.,  Gtn., 

*  Deceased 


Crozer  Building, 
6504  Main  St.,  Germantown, 
243  Pelham  Road, 
412  School  Lane,  Gtn., 

140  Gorgas  Street, 
7300  Boyer  Street,  Gtn., 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Chestnut  Hill,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
eatherman,  W.  Va. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Chestnut  Hill,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
New  Haven,  Conn. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Mt.  Airy,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
,    Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Mt.  Carmel,  Pa. 

Gtn.,     Phila.,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


312 


The   Alumni 
1903 

Whitham,  Jay  D.,       Green  below  Queen  St.,  Gtn. ,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wilkinson,  Norman,          Oak  Lane,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wunder,  Howard,        60  E.  Penn  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Young,  Rowland,           249  W.  Harvey  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Adamson,  William, 
Adcock,  Joseph, 
Bolton,  Meade,  Jr. 
Boltz,  Robert  J., 
Borda,  George  D., 
Brady,  John  L. 
Brennan,  Harry  G., 


1904 

76  Fishers  Lane,  Gtn., 
52  W.  Haines  St.,  Gtn., 

328  Pelham  Road,  Gtn., 
Chestnut  Avenue, 

1210  Spruce  Street, 


Bromley,  Harry  S.,  Chelten  and  Wissahickon  Aves., 


Brown,  T.  Wistar, 
Callahan,  Chas. ,  Jr., 
Christopher,  Donald 
Clark,  Ed.  L., 
Cosbey,  James, 
Davis,  Frances  W., 
DeBow,  Robert  G., 
Farley,  Robert, 
Folsom,  Donald  M. , 
Frost,  Ellingwood  A., 
Greenwood,  Robert  P 
Greer,  Benj.  W. ,  Jr., 
Huckel,  Earle  W., 


School  Lane,  Gtn., 
5924  Brown  St., 

5326  Baynton  Street, 
2963  D  Street, 
Wissa.  and  Clapier  St.,  Gtn., 
989  N.  5th  Street, 


13  Saunder's  Avenue, 
226  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn., 
433  Naoma  Ave.,  Gtn., 
321  Wister  Street,  Gtn., 
502  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn., 
Humphreys,  J.  Charles,      S373  Belfield  Avenue, 
Johnson,  Frank,      Sumac  St.  and  Wissa.  St.,  Gtn., 
229  E.  Logan  St.,  Gtn., 
122  W.  Upsal  St..  Gtn., 
Logan  Street  and  York  Road, 
Morris  St.,  below  Hansberry  St. 

226  Harvey  Street, 
Jr.,     5908  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn., 


Laird,  Robert  T. , 

Landell,  John  B., 

Lippincott,  J.  W., 

Mann,  Benson,  Jr. 

Martin,  A.  Tertius, 

Maxwell,  Robert  D. , 

Megargee,  Stanleigh 

Merrick,  Rodney  King,  Wayne  below  Hansberry  St. 

Newhall,  Morton  L.,         5 141  Wissa.  Road,  Gtn., 

Old,  A.  Hansell,  135  Cliveden  Avenue,  Gtn., 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Chestnut  Hill,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Swarthmore,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


313 


A  History   of  The  Germantoivn  Academy 


Peacock,  Henry,  Jr., 
Peacock,  Walter  G.  B., 
Penrose,  Charles, 
Pilling,  J.  Ross, 
Potter,   Sheldon  F., 
Pursell,  Harold  G., 

*Richards,  Horace,  Jr. 
Roehrig,  George  S. 
Roepper,  Charles  B., 
Rosenberger,  Emerson, 
Schaefer,  William  C, 
Shaw,  Herbert  A. , 
Shaw,  Percy  H., 
Stoever,  Edward  R., 
Tiers,  Charles  M., 
Tilden,  Herbert  M., 
Tourison,  Sedgwick  C 

*Wagner,   Louis  M. 
Walbridge,  Chas.  C, 
Watt,  Chas.  C, 
Watt,  James  M., 
Wister,  L.  Caspar 


1904 

435  Chestnut  Street, 
3038  N.  8th  Street, 
Clapier  Street,  Germantown, 
106  W.  Upsal  Street,  Gtn., 
48  Tulpehocken  St.,  Gtn., 
6376  Main  Street,  Gtn., 


133  W.  Phil-Ellena  St., 
2326  Baynton  Ave.,  Gtn., 
24  Tulpehocken  St.,  Gtn., 
331  Earlham  Terrace,  Gtn., 
331  Earlham  Terrace,  Gtn., 
6214  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn. , 
32  Tulpehocken  St.,  Gtn., 

252  N.  Front  Street, 
. ,     32  Sedgwick  Street, 


136  Tulpehocken  St.,  Gtn., 
5432  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn., 
211  W.  Coulter  Street,  Gtn., 
53  Fishers  Lane,  Gtn., 


1905 


Barrett,  Wilson  S.,     248  W.  Johnson  St.,  Gtn., 
Braun,  W.  F.  Harold,     250  Pelham  Road,  Gtn., 
Brown,  Everett  H.,  Jr.,     5414  Green  Street,  Gtn., 
Brown,  Harry,  Jr. 

308  Upsal  Street,  Gtn., 
126  E.  Washington  Lane,  Gtn. 

McKean  Avenue,  Gtn., 
A.,     989  N.  5th  Street, 
Queen  Lane  and  Wissa. ,  Gtn., 


Collins,  John  M. , 
Dalton,  J.  Morris, 
Deacon,  Gerald  H., 
De  Bow,  Richard  E. 
Fagan,  Louis  E., 


Frost,  L  F.,     School  Lane  and  Pulaski  Ave.,  Gtn. 


Goodwin,  John,  Jr., 
Gerber,  Emil,  Jr., 
Griffin,  Thomas, 
Groves,  Ed.  A.,  Jr., 
Hain,  George, 

*  Deceased 


5330  Baynton  St.,  Gtn., 

6329  Burbridge  Street, 

Oak  Lane,  Germantown, 

5929  Wayne  Ave. ,  Gtn., 

244  Winona  Avenue,  Gtn., 

314 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Mount  Airy,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


The   Alumni 


1905 

Harvey,  E.  Newton,  236  Franklin  Street, 

Hentz,  J.  Henry,  3rd,     231  Tulpehocken  St.,  Gtn., 
Hesse,  William  C,     Phil-Ellena  Street,  Germantown, 
Sumac  St.  and  Wissa.  Rd.,Gtn. , 
103  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 


Johnson,  N.  Grant, 
Keffer,  John  E.  B., 
Kent,  Edward  L. , 
Kline,  C.  Earle 
Knipe,  Joseph  B. , 
Lebrenz,  Walter  D., 
Lewis,  F.  Mortimer, 
Maloney,  J.  Alfred, 


327  E.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 
146  Tulpehocken  St.,  Gtn., 
51  Cliveden  Ave.,  Gtn., 
1342  Westmoreland  St.,  Gtn., 
Mann,  Garner  B. ,  Morris  St.  bel.  Hansberry  St.,  Gtn., 
Martin,  Stuart  T., 

Murphy,  William  R.,  806  S.  48th  Street, 

Murray,  Butler,  314  Earlham  Terrace,  Gtn., 

Parke,  Louis  T.,  5127  Pulaski  Ave.,  Gtn., 

Rehn,  William,  Jr.,     228  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn., 
York  Road  and  Thorp's  Lane, 

213  W.  Coulter  St.,  Gtn., 
4928  Rubicam  Avenue,  Gtn., 

3418  N.  19th  Street, 
E.  Washington  Lane,  Gtn., 
412  School  Lane,  Gtn., 
E.  Penn  Street,  Germantown, 

6803  N.   i2th  Street, 
,       443  W.  Price  St.,  Gtn., 
226  Chelten  Avenue,  Gtn., 
6635  McCallum  St.,  Gtn., 


29 


Rogers,  Chas.  H., 
Rose,  Albert  C, 
Rounds,  Eugene, 
Sandt,  Walter  C. , 
Sheble,  Warren, 
Shields,  Robert  C. 
Smith,  Mayberry, 
Spaulding,  Harold  P. 
Tibbott,  Frederick  M 
Tilge,  Louis  H., 
Trump,  William  H., 
Wallace,  Harold  A. 
White,  Atwood,  Jr., 
Whitham,  Lloyd  B. , 
Woods,  Walter  T., 
Young,  Alan  S. , 


Albert,  Wm.  E.  J., 
Barton,  John  R., 
Blum,  Perry  L., 
Bowden,  Jno.  A. 


Oak  Lane, 
5213  Green  Street,  Gtn., 
37  High  Street,  Gtn., 
249  Harvey  Street,  Gtn., 

1906 

302  Earlham  Terrace,  Gtn. 
163  Hansberry  Street,  Gtn., 
247  W.  Haines  St.,  Gtn., 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Ambler,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Wilmington,  Del. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Oak  Lane,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


315 


A  History    of    The  Germantown  Academy 


1906 

Brown,  Joseph  J.,  128  W.  Upsal  Street,  Gtn. , 

Campbell,  Edwin  L.,      5356  Chew  Street,  Gtn., 
Christopher,  Richard  C. 


Philadelph 
Philadelph 


E.  Washington  Lane,  Gtn. , 
335  School  Lane,  Gtn., 
102  E.  Mount  Airy  Ave.,  Gtn 
100  Fifth  Avenue, 
244  School  Lane,  Gtn., 
115  Queen  Lane,  Gtn., 
Gouhler,  VVm.  J. ,  Jr. ,  High  St.  and  Baynton  St.,  Gtn 
Hamill,  Jos.  A.,      135  W.  Washington  Lane,  Gtn., 
Hayes,  Albert,  323  E.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn., 

Hantz,  T.  Walker,     231  Tulpehocken  St..  Gtn., 


Coleman,  Robert  J., 
Cookman,  Earl  C. , 
Evans,  Clarence  M. 
Gemmi,  Wilbur  M. 
Gilpin,  Alfred  C, 
Graham,  John  J., 


229  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 
Ill  W.  Upsal  St.,  Gtn., 

7806  N.  2Sth  Street, 
103  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 
305  W.  Hortter  St.,  Gtn., 
449  Locust  Street, 
1833  Bockius  St.,  Frankford, 
2646  N.  6th  Street, 
332  E.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 
51  Cliveden  Avenue,  Gtn., 
205  W.  Upsal  Street,  Gtn., 
138  Manheim  St.,  Gtn., 
213  W.   Penn  Street,  Gtn., 

Wingohocking  Heigh 

220  Pelham  Road,  Philadelph 

138  Manheim  St.,  Gtn., 


Holton,  Howard  C, 

Howett,  Wm.  H., 

Kesseman,  Ernest  J., 

Keefer,  Wm.  Wesley, 

Kelley,  E.  Rudolph, 

Kitchen,  Philip  G., 

Kuehnle,  Joseph, 

Kuestner,  John,  Jr, 

Lea,  Roland  Ellis, 

Lewis,  Henry  C, 

Lindsay,  Philip  H. 

McClurg,  James, 

McKinney,  Jay, 

Melchin,  Wm.  H., 

Payne,  Olney  R. , 

Peck,  John  R., 

Ralston,  Edw.  L. , 

Rawls,  Eric, 

Riley,  Chas.  H.,       256  Harvey  Street,  Germantown, 

Robinson,  Ralph  R.,  240  School  Lane,  Gtn., 

Schaefer,  Nathaniel  O.,       207  Cliveden  St.,  Gtn., 

Sheble,  Earl,  E.  Washington  Lane,  Gtn., 

Shoemaker,  Fred.  F.,      5134  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn., 

Spaulding,  Eugene  R.,       7211  Boyer  St.,  Gtn., 

Sterrett,  Saml.  John,  Jr.,     4941  Rubicam  Ave.,  Gtn., 

Sweeton,  Earl  C,  6340  Green  Street,  Gtn., 

316 


Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
New  York  Cit}-, 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Chestnut  H 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 


Pa. 
Pa. 

Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
.  Y. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 
Pa. 


Philadelph 

Dewey,  Mont. 
Asheville,  N.  C. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


The   Alumni 
1906 

Syle,  Walter  S.,           188  Maplewood  Ave.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Tissot,  Henry  Leonard,     5430  Green  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Torpey,  Walter  T.,  Old  York  Road  and  Hunt.  Park,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Watson,  Roy  Cooper,     5333  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Yarnall,  Leslie  J.,         High  Street,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

1907 

Benham,  Arthur  W.,     324  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Bonnafon,  Sidney,                 2439  Walnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Brooks,  Amsbry  M.,      208  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Cameron,  Harrison 

Carrigan,  William,  Jr.,   Green  and  Johnson  Sts.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Clark,  Franklin  T. ,    Queen  Lane  and  Wissa. ,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Coukle,  Wm.  H.,                  827  S.  48th  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Coryell,  Chas.  M.,            304  W.  Upsal  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Crossan,  Lavyrence  A.,     720  W.  Allegheny  Ave.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Dallett,  Anthony  J.,     Rex  Ave.  and  Main  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Downing,  Keith,     Green  St.  and  Johnson  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Dunne,  Gerald,           E.  Washington  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Ewing,  Fleming,           60  W.  Upsal  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Gilliams,  Edw.,  Jr.,     149  E.  Coulter  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Gorham,  Walter  G.,  Jr.,     Wissahickon  Ave.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Harris,  James,             31  E.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Hartman,  Edward  O.,       2856  Main  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Hartwell,  Russell  R.,      119  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Havens,  Geo.  S. ,                   508  Locust  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Hertzog,  Tinsley 

Keefer,  Geo.  R.,         303  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Klink,  Bryon  M.,           5334  Wakefield  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Maxwell,  Henry  Z.,         5908  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Peck,  John  R.,                138  Manheim  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Potter,  Raymond,         48  Tulpehocken  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Pursell,  Henry  N.,              6376  Main  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Pusey,  Chas.  A.,           4603  Pulaski  Ave.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Reed,  Henry  D.,     5920  Green  Street,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Riley,  Henry  C,  Jr.,          250  Harvey  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Seitz,  Frank  L,          Chew  and  Washington  Lane,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Shaw,  William  A.,       331  Earlham  Terrace,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Shoesmith,  Thos. ,              2860  Marshall  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Smith,  Geo.  Allen,       218  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


A  History    of  The  Germantown  Academy 


1907 

Smith,  S.  T. ,  1422  Girard  Avenue, 

Springer,  Willden  T.,        211  Sumac  Street,  Gtn. 
Sylvester,  William  R.,  3544  N.  Broad  Street, 

Watt,  Henry  C,  211  W.  Coulter  Street, 

Wells,  Arthur,  33  High  Street,  Germantown, 

Willing,  VanderVeer,     5909  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn., 


Adams,  Harry  L., 
Alburger,  T.  L. ,  Jr. 
Atlee,  Edwin,  Jr. , 
Avery,  Walter  H., 
Badger,  Oscar, 
Bain,  Hillyard  G., 
Ball,  Leland  C. , 
Baur,  John  Hans, 
Belae.  Harvey  D. , 
Braun,  Roland, 
Brown,  Clement  M 


1908 

1 1 7  W.  Chelten  Ave. ,  Gtn. , 
5914  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn., 
712  W.  Coulter  St.,  Gtn., 
54  Tulpehocken  St.,  Gtn., 
133  Tulpehocken  St.,  Gtn., 
Morton  and  Upsal  Sts.,  Gtn., 
336  Manheim  St.,  Germantown, 
39  E.  Walnut  Lane,  Germantown, 
32  Tulpehocken  St.,  Gtn., 
6628  Green  St.,  Germantown, 
.,     6123  Green  St.,  Germantown, 


Butterworth,  Henry,  Jr.,     123  Peiham  Road,  Gtn., 
Cahall,  William,  Jr.,      154  W.  Chelten  Ave.,  Gtn., 
Campbell,  Archibald,    5356  Chew  St.,  Germantown, 
Carlile,  J.  Russell 
Carlile,  Walter  F. 

Crawford,  Charles  M.,       114  Phil-EIIena  St.,  Gtn., 
Clements,  Mahlon  D.,        211  W.  Penn  St.,  Gtn., 
Crease,  Orlando,  Jr.,  6129  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn., 

Culley,  Earl  B.,  The  Linden, 

Cutler,  James  B.,  230  School  Lane,  Germantown, 
5541  Morris  St.,  Germantown, 
5541  Morris  St.,  Germantown, 


180  Maplewood  Ave.,  Gtn., 
46  E.  Sedgwick  St.,  Germantown, 
Oak  Lane, 


Darrow,  Anthony 

Darrow,  Chas.  B., 

Deitrick,  Ira 

Dunham,  C.  T., 

Dunn,  John  S., 

Elliot,  Charles  F., 

Ellis,  Geo.  M. 

Ewing,  Herbert,     60  W.  Upsal  Street,  Germantown, 

Fahnestock,  McClure,     103  W.  Johnson  St.,  Gtn., 

Flavell,  Geo.  K. ,  5438  Wayne  Avenue,  Gtn., 

318 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 
Philadelph 


a.  Pa. 
a,  Pa. 
a.  Pa. 
a,  Pa. 
a,  Pa. 
a,  Pa. 
a.  Pa. 
a.  Pa. 
a,  Pa. 
a.  Pa. 
a.  Pa. 
a.  Pa. 
a.  Pa. 
a.  Pa. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa.- 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


The   Alumni 
1908 

Gleason,  Percy  E. ,  308  Pelham  Road,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Grarnm,  Harris,    5200  Wayne  Avenue,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Greer,  Francis  K.,    321  Wister  Street,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Harmar,  William  Wurts,       19  E.  Penn  St.,  Gtn. ,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Holmes,  Alfred  R.,        Sunnyslde,  Thorp's  Lane,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Holt,  Frank  D.,               Schuylkill  View,  Wissa.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Holt,  Joseph  H.,               Schuylkill  View,  Wissa.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Kelley,  Wilson,   Clapier  and  McKean  Avenue,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Kirkpatrick,  Robert  E.,    216  W.  Penn  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Lewis,  Silas  W.,     51  Cliveden  Avenue,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

McCleary,  James,           School  Lane,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

McKee,  John  B.,      549  Pelham  Road,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Mears,  John  William,      114  E.  Upsal  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Nevin,  William  M. ,  Roslyn,  Pa. 

Old,  Howard  Norman,       135  Cliveden  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Patterson,  William,        6330  Burbridge  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Pearson,   Harrison  M.,     5103  Newhall  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Pilling,  George  P.,        106  W.  Upsal  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Pugh,  Edward  L.,            28  E.  Penn  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Rile,  Atlee  D.,        5518  Morris  Street,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Riter,  Henry  G. ,    6369  McCallum  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Rotan,  Joseph  Elwood,       Oak  Lane,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Schaeffer,  E.  B.,     21  W.  Tulpehocken  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Sheble,  Ralph  L.,         E.  Washington  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Sketchley,  Rothwell  G.,     426  School  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Smith,  Lloyd  M.,          29  E.  Penn  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Stauffer,  Samuel  E.,                                                       E.  Downingtown,  Pa. 

Steele,  Raymond  William,      545  Wister  St. ,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Stoever,  John  Lewis,         Princeton  University 

Tissot,  Ernest  M.,         143  W.  Coulter  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Tourison,  William  Henry,    32  E.  Sedgwick  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wagner,  Robert,         506  Locust  Avenue,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wallerstein,  Edward,     253  W.  Franklin  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wilkinson,  William,     224  W.  Penn  Street,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Williams,  Chas.  D.,      163  E.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wright,  Carlyle  P.,     Wissahickon  and  Park  Ave.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Zuiger,  William,  Jr.,     314  E.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

1909 

Austin,  Charles  L. ,       6201  Main  St.,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


A  History    of  The  Gertnantown  Academy 


1909 

Blanchard,  Charles  M.,     25  Phil-EIlena  St.,  Gtn., 
Blanchard,  VV.  Grieg,      25  Phil-Ellena  St.,  Gtn., 
Borchers,  Roland  W.  C,     138  W.  Logan  St.,  Gtn., 
Brown,  Matthew  Barclay,     213  E.  Logan  St.,  Gtn., 
Carter,  William  Henry,         122  W.  Upsal  St.,  Gtn., 
Chase,  Parker,  no  W.  Johnson  Street,  Gtn., 

Deitz,  Louis  Scott,  Jr.,       6636  McCallum  St.,  Gtn., 
Dysart,  Sam'l  Atkinson 

Fagan,  Thomas  Zell,    514  Queen  Lane,  Germantown, 
Furman.  Horace  S.,  1705  Tioga  Street, 

Gardiner,  De  Loss,        520  W.  Coulter  Street,  Gtn., 
Gardiner,  Meredith  Rogers,    328  Manheim  St.,  Gtn., 
Garrett,  George  B.,         7010  Main  Street,  Gtn., 
Godwin,  James  Orne,  Jr.,     220  Pelham  Road,  Gtn., 
Gummey,  Robert  C,       329  Pelham  Road,  Gtn., 
Hammett,  William  Henry,     Lincoln  Drive,  Gtn., 
Harley,  George,  8303  N.  27th  St., 

Hillman,  Herbert  Cecil,  52  Summit  St. , 

Holloway,  William  Cecil,  202  Gowan  Ave.,  Gtn., 
Holmes,  John,  4933  Knox  St.,  Germantown, 

Hovey,  Otis  Wadsworth,     6339  Burbridge  St. ,  Gtn., 
Inglis,  Alfred  Hartwell,        255  W.  Rittenhouse  St., 
Kelly,  William  Dunham,  Jr. ,  120  Cliveden  Ave. ,  Gtn. 
Kenney,  Richard  J.,  4503  N.  17th  St.,  Gtn., 

Landenberger,  Franklin  J.,  22  Gowan  Ave.,  Gtn., 
Lippincott,  George  E.,  431  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 
McCown,  Andrew,  6804  Emlen  Street,  Gtn., 

McCown,  John  Davis,       6804  Emlen  St.,  Gtn., 
Matthews,  Chas.  L. ,  Jr.,  423  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 
Mayburry,  William,  Jr.,      5430  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn., 
Middleton,  Bentley,         130  E.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn., 
Mann,  Edward  M.,  Morris  St.  bel.Hansberry  St.,  Gtn., 
Passmore,  John  F. ,        Queen  Lane,  Germantown, 
Phillips,  H.  Fitzburgh,       The  Graystone, 
Reckefus,  Chas.  H. ,     431  W.  Price  Street,  Gtn., 
Rile,  W.  Mitchell,  5518  Morris  St.,  Gtn., 

Rodgers,  Kenneth  F.,     252  W.  Johnson  St.,  Gtn., 
Royal,  Forrest  B.,  107  School  Lane,  Gtn., 

Sanborn,  Robert  P.,     39  Fishers  Lane,  Germantown, 
Satterfield,  Calvin,  Jr.,        5322  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn., 
Schefer,  Earl  B.,  21  Tulpehocken  St.,  Gtn., 


Philadelphia, 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia, 

Pa 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Chestnut  Hill 

Pa. 

Chestnut  Hill 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

,  Philadelphia 

,  Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa 

Philadelphia 

Pa 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa 

Philadelphia 

Pa 

Philadelphia 

,  Pa 

Philadelphia 

Pa 

Philadelphia 

Pa 

Philadelphia 

Pa 

Philadelphia 

Pa 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

Philadelphia 

Pa 

Philadelphia 

Pa 

Philadelphia 

Pa 

Philadelphia 

Pa. 

320 


The   Alumni 
1909 

Schwarz,  Albert,               2209  N.  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Shandrew,  Frank  E.,      4615  Whittier  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Sidebottom,  Herbert  G.,     5536  Wayne  Ave.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Sheble,  Ralph  L.,         E.  Washington  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Snyder,  Chas.  H.,       73  High  Street,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Stilz,  Wallace  C,         School  Lane,  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Thompson,  Chas. ,  Jr.,       336  W.  Duval  St.,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Tiers,  Charles  Schwartz,   53  W.  Walnut  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Tripp,  F.  Harvey,  Jr.,  Morris  and  Hansberry  Sts.,  Gtn.,  Phila. ,  Pa. 

Wagner,  John,  3rd,           W.  School  Lane,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wagner,  Robert  N.,                506  Locust  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Warner,  John  Henry,     235  Earlham  Terrace,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wright,  CarlyleP. ,   Wissa.  and  Hunting  Park,  Gtn.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


321 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


slJBJECT  TO  FINE  IF 

EDUCATlOill 

JUN  2  3  1971 


EDU./PSYCH. 
LIBRARY 


Form  L9-50m-7, '54(5990)444 


THE  LlBKAUr 
CmVERSITY  OF  r^LIFORNUB 
LOS  A^i(i£yb;a^ 


I 


Education 
Library 

ID 

7501 
P5G3 


UCLA-ED/PSYCH  Library 

LD7501P5G3V.1 


L  005  599  955  1 


D     000  512  838     4 


